Agenda 07/11/2017 Item # 2D07/11/2017
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 2.D
Item Summary: June 15, 2017 - BCC/Budget Workshop
Meeting Date: 07/11/2017
Prepared by:
Title: Executive Secretary to County Manager – County Manager's Office
Name: MaryJo Brock
06/30/2017 11:39 AM
Submitted by:
Title: County Manager – County Manager's Office
Name: Leo E. Ochs
06/30/2017 11:39 AM
Approved By:
Review:
County Manager's Office MaryJo Brock County Manager Review Completed 06/30/2017 11:40 AM
Board of County Commissioners MaryJo Brock Meeting Pending 07/11/2017 9:00 AM
June 15, 2017
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TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Naples, Florida, June 15, 2017
BUDGET WORKSHOP
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of County
Commissioners, in and for the County of Collier, and also acting as
the Board of Zoning Appeals and as the governing board(s) of such
special districts as have been created according to law and having
conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 a.m., in BUDGET
WORKSHOP SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex,
East Naples, Florida, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: Penny Taylor
Andy Solis
Donna Fiala (via speakerphone)
William L. McDaniel, Jr.
Burt L. Saunders
ALSO PRESENT:
Leo Ochs, County Manager
Nick Casalanguida, Deputy County Manager
Mark Isackson, OMB Director
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney
June 15, 2017
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MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good morning. Good morning. This is
a sunny Thursday morning, which is lovely in itself, and we're here to
talk about the budget. But first, I think, before we continue --
Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: There she is. She is recuperating quite
nicely from a very successful knee operation. And, ma'am, we need to,
I've been told, make a motion here to allow you to participate by
phone. So if I could ask someone to make a motion.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So moved.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Second.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. We have a motion on the floor
and a second. All those in favor, say aye.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you, ma'am. You are now
involved in the meeting. And I don't know if you know, but we have
two of our commissioners that are in their summer jackets, so --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I noticed. It looks pretty nice, too.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, would you like to begin with the
pledge this morning?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I would, yes, sir.
Commissioner Fiala, would you lead us in the pledge, please.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I certainly will.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER FIALA: Excuse me. I just dropped
something.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: You were standing, ma'am? Were you
standing?
We have some doctors here, so they probably are a little askew
that you've been standing. But thank you very much, Commissioner
Fiala.
MR. OCHS: You ready, Madam Chair?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We are.
General Overview
MR. OCHS: Good morning, Commissioners and members of the
public. Welcome to your FY2018 Annual Budget Workshop.
In terms of the format, Commissioners, what I'll do this morning
is to begin with a brief general overview of the highlights of the
proposed 2018 budget, and then you will have a series of presentations
by all of your chief operating departments and divisions and members
of the judiciary and, ultimately, this afternoon, your constitutional
officers, and we'll allow plenty of time, of course, for Board discussion
and questions.
So with that, ma'am, I'll get right to it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: One housekeeping item. We're going to
do exactly the same thing we did on Tuesday where Commissioner
Fiala's going to have a hard time pressing her buzzer from her home.
So what we'll do is just -- I'll go down the line and ask if there's any
questions. Thank you very much.
MR. OCHS: Very good.
Commissioners, at its core, a budget is simply a plan to spend and
to allocate a finite number of resources against a variety of competing
interests in terms of services and programs and projects all intended,
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ultimately, to achieve the goals and objectives that this board has
established for our community.
But in our agency, the annual spending plan is just part of a larger
integrated plan of management, operation, execution, and performance
management. And I wanted to just begin by kind of setting that
foundation this morning, especially for a few of the new board
members so they have a sense of how we operate throughout the year
and that this budget document, this spending plan, is by no means a
static document. It is something that is dynamic, and it's flexible, and I
want you to know that you have that kind of flexibility throughout the
year.
But in terms of our planning cycle and our execution cycle, of
course, it begins with the adoption of a strategic plan, and this board,
on February 14th of this year, reviewed and ultimately made some
modifications and adopted your 10-year strategic plan, and that, of
course, is a plan that the Board develops its mission for the community
and attempts to identify the major goals and objectives necessary to
achieve that mission.
From that strategic plan, your staff then develops a series of
five-year business plans and annual operating plans. Those plans, of
course, are developed by staff in the form of programs, capital projects,
services all designed to achieve those primary goals and objectives
outlined in your strategic plan.
That planning document is then cascaded down to this spending
plan where our board looks at a staff recommendation to allocate those
resources in the form of labor and capital expenditures as an attempt
for us to implement through projects and services and programs, your
primary goals and objectives for the community.
Once those plans are in place, then we cascade those down to
each employee in your agency in the form of annual performance plans
that are developed with their chain of command, and they are
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monitored on a regular basis. We have a program in place where we
meet twice a year with all of our employees to check their progress
against the goals and objectives in the performance management plan
to make sure that we're tracking and that we're going to achieve the
success that we had identified in that plan.
So that's kind of the integrated cycle of planning, and it forms
pretty much the foundation of the way we operate and where the
annual spending plan fits within that cycle.
Your strategic plan is built around six strategic focus areas, and
the request and recommendations that you'll find in your budget
document and that you'll discuss over the next day, and potentially a
couple days, is our attempt to make recommendations that will allow
us to achieve the multiple program project and service objectives that
are embedded in these six key strategic focus areas that are outlined in
your strategic plan.
So everything that we're recommending to you today and in your
budget are essentially designed to accomplish one or more of these six
primary strategic focus areas devoted to quality of place, growth
management, community, health, wellness, infrastructure and capital
asset management, economic development, and governance.
So let's take a closer look at your budget process.
Commissioners, just real quickly, I want to just talk about a couple of
the key milestones in your annual budget calendar. It began in
February with the adoption by this board of the budget guidance
document that the staff brought to you and basically provides the
guiding principles under which we've developed this budget.
Of course, we're at the point now where we're going to have the
workshop to consider some of those spending plan recommendations.
On July 11th, your final board meeting before your break, in
accordance with Florida Statutes, we'll ask you to adopt the maximum
tentative millage rates for your FY18 budget.
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Over the summer the Property Appraiser will prepare the TRIM
notices and send those out. And when you come back in September,
you will hold two statutorily required public hearings that will
culminate in the adoption of your FY2018 budget on September 21st.
And those dates have already been reserved and advertised.
Commissioners, your FY18 budget was developed within a
context of what I would characterize as a relatively strong and stable
regional economic environment as embodied by these following trends
and indicators.
I will note that your countywide taxable value has increased
slightly over 8 percent, and this represents the sixth consecutive year of
tax-base growth. Consumer spending is up again in Collier County, as
evidenced by your taxable sales. Year over year, from February of '16
to February of '17, we've seen an increase of roughly 2 percent year
over year.
Median home prices remain strong. There was a slight decrease
earlier last year. Those have rebounded a bit, and your median home
price is still well above $400,000.
Sales taxes and state-shared revenues remain steady and are
projected to remain so for the immediate future.
Your peak season visitation to the destination remains strong.
The April 2017 destination or visitation has increased 2.8 percent year
over year, and visitor spending is up 5.7 percent for that same period;
almost $220 million.
Your monthly building permitting activity remains strong with
over 260 permits issued year over year from April of '16 through April
of '17, and your unemployment rate has trended down slightly by
six-tenths of a percent.
Let's talk about a few of the noteworthy features in this 2018
budget proposal. Commissioners, your budget guidance that you gave
us in February has essentially been met for the ad valorem supported
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county manager operations. That budget has increased about 7
percent, and we'll talk about that in a little bit more detail in just a
moment.
Your General Fund millage rate for your operations has remained
at millage neutral at 3.564 mills; however, I will point out that the rate
did increase by a quarter of a mill on top of that as a result of the
direction earlier in the year by the Board to restart the Conservation
Collier program in Fiscal '18 with that quarter-of-a-mill levy.
Your Unincorporated Area General Fund tax rate remains the
same as it has been for several years, and it features a 0.8069 rate for
your operations and a marginal rate of .09 to maintain the median
landscape Capital Improvement Program that the Board initiated in last
year's budget.
Your General Fund and Unincorporated Area General Fund
reserves continue to grow, and we'll talk about the importance of that
in just a few minutes.
Your principal debt and its annual debt service continues to
decline. There is no new debt planned in the proposed FY18 budget
document. But, again, you have that flexibility at any point in the year
if you deem that that is necessary.
Now, the budget does contain a number of expanded personnel
and appropriations aimed primarily to now staff new capital facilities
that came online during the current year. An example of that would be
the new aquatics facility that is under construction at Eagle Lakes Park
that will be in operation in Fiscal Year 2018.
You've continued to make strong commitments to public health,
safety, and welfare services, and this budget includes an additional
$300,000 appropriation in support of the David Lawrence Center over
and above your statutorily required appropriation for that
mental-health service.
As the Board had directed earlier in the year, $75,000 has been
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allocated to help with wildfire mitigation services through the State
Forestry Service.
Your -- and this is something I think is important, and we'll talk
about it in more detail as we move through the day. We continue to
make a strong emphasis and an effort to get after the backlog of capital
infrastructure and equipment that was deferred over the course of the
recession in the mid 2000s. That is something that we'll have to get at
over time on a pay/go basis. This budget commits additional funding
in the amount of almost 45 million, $46 million to address not only
your current capital initiatives but also to get at some of the deferred
capital asset replacement that resulted from the recession.
You also have dollars earmarked and dedicated for vehicle and
heavy equipment replacement. Those are funds that are fenced off and
not available for any other purpose to make sure that we can replace
our rolling stock when required.
And, finally, we have, again, as approved in the budget guidance
document in February, included a well-deserved employee
compensation adjustment for your workforce.
Commissioners, as I mentioned, your taxable value continues to
trend up for the sixth consecutive year. You can see the rollercoaster
ride in those bar charts that we've been on since 2007 when taxable
value was peaking at an unsustainable rate of 25 percent all the way to
the depths of negative 12.2 percent in FY11 and now, back over the
last several years, into positive territory.
The State Revenue Estimating Conference, who convened in
2016, is projecting taxable value growth in Collier County to continue
over the next five years. So that's just a projection, but it beats the
alternative.
I mentioned your millage rate history. You can see here both for
your General Fund and your Unincorporated Area General Fund that
from Fiscal Year '10 through Fiscal Year '17, your General Fund
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millage rate at 3.5645 has remained constant despite increased pressure
for service demands and cost of operations and capital.
For FY18, you will notice an increase to 3.8145. That is the
quarter-mill increase associated with the restart of the Conservation
Collier program.
On the right-hand side of this slide shows the history of your
property tax levy for your Unincorporated Area General Fund. Again,
FY10 through '16, that millage was .7161. In the current fiscal year,
the Board had restarted your median landscape program that required a
nominal increase to get your millage back up to .8069 which was the
millage, as you can see, that was levied in your Unincorporated Area
General Fund way back in Fiscal Year 2007.
Let's take a look. This is a busy slide. I apologize, but there's a
lot of good information in here. I wanted to go over a few of the
highlights of the budget proposed for FY2018.
With your millage neutral operating tax rate in the General Fund,
you will raise an additional $22 million. When you add that to the
quarter-mill increase to fund the restart of Conservation Collier, those
will total in summation almost $42 million.
Millage neutral continues to be levied in your Unincorporated
Area General Fund. And as I mentioned, most of that going to support
operations and capital transfers with a nominal portion of that, almost
$5 million, allocated exclusively to rebuilding and completing your
median landscape plan and then for ongoing maintenance for that new
capital expenditure.
You have approximately 40 new FTEs proposed in your budget,
and we'll go through those in detail as each one of the operating units
comes up and briefs their budget.
As I mentioned, we've devoted a large portion of the new dollars
available in this budget, in excess of 45 million, to capital
improvements both for new growth-related improvements and also to
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get at the backlog of deferred asset maintenance and equipment
replacement.
And that next bullet talks about the continued investment that this
board has made in high leverage, high proprietary capital
improvements primarily focused around public infrastructure and
public safety infrastructure, including the completion of the 800
megahertz P25 public safety communications system, continuing to
replace old ambulances.
The final allocation of a multi-year plan to fund the purchase of a
new helicopter; the construction of a new EMS station, and continued
improvements for sheriff facilities and new voting machines along
with a series of transportation-related improvements to roads and
bridges and streetlights.
Commissioners, I wanted to point out just briefly that the General
Fund transfer contribution to the Naples CRA has increased by
$471,000 in the FY18 proposed budget. Now, that is driven in large
part by the quarter-mill increase in the tax rate. Just an anomaly of that
is if that was voter-approved millage, I'm advised that that doesn't
require that additional contribution, but when it's a part of just your
normal levy, that translates into an additional transfer to that CRA.
Commissioners, water and sewer rates are adjusted by 2.9 percent
based on the Consumer Price Index year over year December to
December, and that has been an ongoing Board budget policy.
Tipping fees have increased by that CPI adjustment. Your mandatory
solid waste residential assessment fee is scheduled to increase by 9.3
percent or about $1.41 per month. This will offset increases in your
collection and disposal cost, and we'll talk about that in more detail
when Dr. Yilmaz and his staff come up.
Your building permit fees are actually decreasing in several areas,
and we spoke about that Tuesday when the staff made that particular
presentation.
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Commissioners, I mentioned about the strong investment that this
board has made and continues to make in capital improvements, and
this is a slide that just breaks down some of the primary expenditures
proposed in your FY2018 budget and kind of compares that against the
appropriations that were approved in the current year's spending plan.
You can see both for -- whoop. Sorry, Mark. I'm pushing the
wrong button. Other way. There you go. Got ahead of myself.
You can see that overall spending for capital, both backlog
deferred capital and ongoing current capital needs, has increased by
more than $5 million from the current budget to the proposed budget in
2018, and those include construction of a new EMS station, a large
transfer to get at some of our badly needed road and bridge
improvements.
All right. Commissioners, I mentioned we had 40 expanded
position requests in this budget. They break down as indicated in the
second to the last column on the right. These are the expanded
position requests in our agency as well as in the constitutional
agencies. Forty (sic) of those are within the County Manager's agency,
another 10 come from constitutional officers, specifically the Clerk's
Office and the Sheriff's Office. And, again, each one of those will be
briefed as they come up and present their budgets. Most of those
expanded requests, as I mentioned, are either needed to staff new
facilities that are coming online in 2018 or to meet additional service
demands.
Commissioners, in your budget guidance in February, we
requested an adjustment of 3 percent into the compensation program
for Fiscal Year '18 2.9 percent of that would represent a general wage
adjustment for your workforce, and six-tenths of a percent would be
reserved for individual pay plan adjustments to maintain our
competitiveness with our market set.
I will tell you that as the economy continues to improve, not only
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in Collier but around the region -- and we've seen this trend many,
many times. As the economy improves, more people are getting hired
in the private sector. We always get a raid on our staff by the private
sector, and it escalates into a little bit of a competition, and wages and
benefits are certainly part of that equation. So we believe this
cost-of-living adjustment is important to remain competitive in the
workforce, in the workplace.
I'm pleased to report that your healthcare program, your
self-funded health insurance and disability program is doing very well.
It's actuarially sound, and there is no employee or employer premium
increases proposed in your health program for Fiscal Year 2018.
As you know, there's been a long-standing board direction to cost
share those health insurance costs between the Board and the
employees, and that has traditionally been an 80/20 split. Your
agency, the Clerk of Courts, and the Supervisor of Elections continue
to abide by that. The other agencies have not -- have not complied with
that particular allocation.
Commissioners, all in, your county net budget is about $1.15
billion proposed for Fiscal Year 2018. It's about a 10 percent increase
overall. And let's just look real briefly at the primary sources of
revenue to fund that budget. Those include -- ad valorem taxes
represent about 32 percent of that revenue; your gas and sales taxes are
another 5 percent; about 19 percent of that revenue is raised through
service charges for water and sewer service, ambulance fees, your
collections for solid waste pickup and disposal; 31 percent is
designated carryforward in over 200 funds within this budget; 5
percent is about the carryforward for your General Fund budget. And
that's --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Madam Chair, could I ask a
quick question?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Of course. Of course.
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: In the 10 percent increase,
does that include the Conservation Collier component?
MR. OCHS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And without that, it would be,
what, 7 --
MR. OCHS: Mark, do you have that calculation?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- percent?
MR. ISACKSON: Significantly less; let's put it that way.
MR. OCHS: We'll get that for you.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: All right. I'm just interested in
how much that --
MR. OCHS: Yes, sir, contributes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I have a question. The carryforward,
that's encumbered, is that correct, your carryforward?
MR. ISACKSON: It's part of the budgeted revenues which rolls
into the FY18 fiscal year. So it is programmed revenue carrying
forward from prior fiscal year.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
MR. OCHS: And we looked at the primary sources of the
revenue to fund that net budget. Now let's take a look at where that
money is appropriated.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Before you go on there, I just --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That was a very -- very good
question that you asked, and Mr. Isackson is busy right now. He didn't
answer your question as to whether it's encumbered or not.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It's programmed.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Being programmed and
encumbered is, to me, two different things. I mean, there's an
allotment there, but an encumbrance is -- you don't have a lot of
discussion about. Programming is -- to me, personally, programming
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allows for discretion with regard to the utilization of those
carryforwards. Am I correct?
MR. OCHS: Yeah. I think, Commissioners, what you're asking
is, do you have flexibility on how that money is programmed. I would
say in your General Fund, certainly, you do. In your other funds -- in
other words, you couldn't pluck carryforward out of your tourist
development tax funds and transfer those over to help your General
Fund, for example.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Understood.
MR. OCHS: So that is the difference. When you look at the
designated carryforward, that's a large number, and that's spread
around a number of funds, including your water and sewer and other
enterprise funds that you can't transfer to your General Operating
Funds or your Unincorporated Area General Fund.
But there is, again, 58 million in carryforward in your General
Fund that Mark said is programmed to support the budget request
inside your General Fund and your Unincorporated General Fund. But
if you decide you don't want to fund some of those programs or you
want to fund other programs at a higher or lower level, you certainly
have that flexibility to do that today.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I didn't mean to interrupt,
but I wanted to --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: My perception of your question
apparently was different of than yours, and I just wanted a point of
clarification with that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah. No, I appreciate it. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
Commissioner Fiala, are we okay? Any questions, ma'am?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I just have a couple, actually.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Please...
COMMISSIONER FIALA: My first one was, are you still
putting aside money and are we pretty close to the end for the EMS
helicopter?
MR. OCHS: The answer to that is yes and yes.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, good. Good, good.
MR. OCHS: We've been putting away about a million to two
million a year. I think this year we'll have about six-and-a-half million
in that fund, which is close to getting us where we need to fully fund a
new helicopter to replace our old one.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, that's just great.
And my second question is about hurricane preparedness. We've
all heard the predictions that are being mentioned in the newspaper as
well as on the news itself. And I was just wondering, as usual, if we've
put aside money for hurricane debris removal and maybe excess just to
make sure that in case we just happen to have one this year we're
prepared for it.
MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am, we are. We set aside reserves, not only
statutorily required reserves, but we have additional operating and
capital reserves that we establish just for those very reasons.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Great. Thank you very much.
MR. OCHS: Thank you.
Madam Chair, I'll move quickly through the rest of this.
Again, in terms of your net budget, we've looked at the primary
revenue sources. These are the primary categories of expenditure.
County Manager Agency operations is about a quarter of that budget,
your Public Utility operations is about 22 percent; constitutional
officers represent about 18 percent of that net budget spend; your debt
service is approximately 6 percent; and you see that a large
component, almost 29 percent, devoted to capital improvements.
Well, let's take a -- that was your net budget all in. Let's take a
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look at your General Fund now. Your 2018 requested General Fund
budget totals $432,846,700. That represents about a 12.2 percent
increase from your FY2017 budget.
Commissioner Saunders, this might help answer your question.
About 4.6 percent of that overall increase in the General Fund is
connected with the restart of Conservation Collier.
This is a quick pro forma of the primary increases in the General
Fund budget both on the expense and revenue side from your current
budget to propose for '18. On the left-hand side is the expense
category. You notice the large numbers there are the reestablishment
of Conservation Collier at $19.7 million, the transfer of new money to
the constitutional officers of 13.3 million, most of that to the sheriff.
Those two together represent almost 33 million of the 46 million
increase year over year. There's another five or six million in new
capital project appropriations as well.
On the revenue side, obviously, we're heavily reliant on property
tax revenue to fund the General Fund; 42 million increase when you,
all in, include all your operating millage increase as well as the new
revenues that would come from the quarter-mill levy for Conservation
Collier restart.
I spoke at the beginning about General Fund reserve growth and
the importance of that. This bar graph, I think, demonstrates our staff's
commitment to grow reserves. It's very important to have adequate
reserves in your budget for the type of flexibility that we talked about.
The General Fund reserve is something that the rating agencies look
very closely at when we go out to borrow money and to establish our
bond ratings. Because of the good work that this board has done over
the year to establish adequate reserves, we have a high Triple A
corporate credit rating; the highest you can get in the industry.
It's also important to note the General Fund is the cash flow
engine, and we need to make sure we have adequate reserves to fund
June 15, 2017
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not only our operations but the constitutional officers during the first
few years (sic) of your fiscal year before your tax revenues are
collected and transfers back from the Tax Collector to your operations.
Obviously, as Commissioner Fiala mentioned, they're also
necessary and important to have in the event of unforeseen
emergencies or unforeseen mandates from the federal or state
government. I know that never happens, but it could.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Never.
MR. OCHS: Or maybe you need a new helicopter midyear or
something like that, so that's why you need these reserves. It's a good
thing.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
MR. OCHS: We talked about your debt service and your total
county debt. You can see that there's been a concerted effort and a
steady decline in your outstanding principal debt all in for county
government. We're now down to 421 million of principal debt.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Can we go back to that slide, sir,
please.
MR. OCHS: Yes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think it's very important, and I will
say this as long as I'm up here, when we started to reduce the debt,
when the recession hit. That speaks volumes of the ability and the
talent that have managed the county's budget through this very dark
period of Collier County's history.
Thank you very much.
MR. OCHS: Oh, you're welcome, ma'am.
So the annual debt service that's required to service that debt, the
Board has an established policy that essentially says the ratio of your
general governmental debt to your total bondable revenue should not
exceed 13 percent. You can see both in the narrative and by the bar
chart that we're well within that 13 percent cap. Actually, 6.2 percent
June 15, 2017
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of -- in Fiscal Year '18 is the total bondable -- the ratio of that bondable
general governmental revenues to annual debt service. So we're doing
a good job of staying inside that 13 percent cap.
Let's look briefly at your primary General Fund revenue sources.
You can see the very heavy reliance on ad valorem taxes, 68 percent --
yeah, 68 percent of your revenues to fund your General Fund come
from ad valorem property taxes. When you add in the other 5 percent
that's in the '18 budget for Conservation Collier restart, which is also
property tax revenue, you can see that we're around 73 percent. So
we're heavily reliant, I would suggest probably overly reliant on that
one source of revenue to fund your General Fund operations.
Sales taxes represent about 9 percent of that, and your fund
balance, your beginning balance, is about 12 percent of your General
Fund revenues going into '18.
This is another snapshot of those. You can see that your ad
valorem dollars are up. As I mentioned, about $42.9 million in '18,
including 20 million of that for the Conservation Collier restart.
Your sales tax dollars are essentially flat, as are your State
Revenue Sharing Funds. Gas taxes are up about a million dollars from
2017. Impact fees, which is an indication of the growth in the
construction industry here in the county, are up about six-and-a-half
million dollars, and that provides some additional revenue for
growth-related capital improvements. Still, obviously, well, well
below the historical high back in 2007.
And then I mentioned your General Fund beginning fund balance
or carryforward is about $51 million, representing 13 percent of your
forecasted 2017 expenses.
Let's talk about your Unincorporated Area General Fund again
briefly. That is the areas that are paid by property tax owners that don't
live inside the corporate limits of a city; so City of Naples, City of
Marco, City of Everglades would not pay your Unincorporated Area
June 15, 2017
Page 19
General Fund tax levy.
Now, that General Fund budget is increasing about
seven-and-a-half percent from FY2017. That's a function of the
increase in the taxable values and a level millage rate.
Your capital transfers in this fund are up substantially by over a
million dollars. Almost $1.3 million in your reserves have increased in
this fund by a half a million dollars.
Again, the pro forma that identifies some of the primary changes
between the current year and the proposed 2018 budget on both the
expense and revenue side in your unincorporated area. There was a
transfer of your operations expenses for your stormwater out of a
capital fund and moved more correctly into the 111 fund. You also
have large transfers for capital projects in parks and transportation and
stormwater programmed on the expense side in 2018.
As I mentioned, the revenues for your 111 Unincorporated Area
General Fund are primarily funded by ad valorem taxes and your
communication services tax, which is constantly under attack in
Tallahassee, and we're actually behind the revenue of the current year
by about a quarter million dollars next year.
This is a breakdown of a typical unincorporated area residential
tax bill for the current year. Again, we do this just so the public
understands that the County Commission and county government is
just one element of the tax bill and is, by no means, the highest levy in
your annual tax bill. You can see that county government accounts for
about 20 percent of that typical unincorporated area residential tax bill;
your constitutional officers, another 15 percent; the school district
represents 44 percent of that expenditure; independent fire control
district's about 10 percent; and you have about seven-and-a-half
percent of expense for county MSTUs. Those are service
enhancements that neighborhoods or areas decide to tax themselves for
to enhance service levels.
June 15, 2017
Page 20
Commissioners, I'll close with just a few cautionary notes about
some of the current and future challenges that we're always keeping
our eye on. As I mentioned, because we're so reliant on property tax
and state-shared revenues to fund our General Fund -- and some of the
attacks on that revenue stream that we constantly fight in Tallahassee.
In fact, as you all know, the legislature approved a voter referendum
for next fall that would allow, essentially, the public to vote to lower
their property taxes again through an additional homestead exemption.
So those kinds of things that affect the revenue stream of ad
valorem taxes are always concerning to us, and we'll continue to point
out potential other alternative revenue sources that can help diversify
that revenue stream.
We also have, obviously, the ongoing need, which is a challenge
for the staff and the Board, is to take a finite amount of resources and
be able to allocate that not only to get at the backlog of capital
maintenance and equipment replacement, but also to fund your general
operations and environment of relatively high growth and high
customer demands and have the asset management in capital for new
growth-related capital going forward.
We talked about no budget or -- excuse me, no borrowing is
programmed into your 2018 budget, but we will be talking to you
about getting positioned to do that in 2019, and the timing of any of
that capital financing, for us anyhow, is always predicated on do we
have a good estimate of the cost of the project, are we able to execute it
within the period of three to five years, which is usually when we're
required to expend proceeds from some type of a financing instrument,
and we'll be making sure that we have all of those in place before we
come to you with any recommendations to borrow money.
Again, I mention the competition in the labor market, and we're
going to continue to monitor that and make sure that we're doing
everything we can to maintain a competitive wage and benefit package
June 15, 2017
Page 21
for our workforce.
I mentioned the equity issue in employee and employer health
insurance. What I meant by that was there are a few of your
constitutionals that the employer portion of the insurance premium is
covered almost exclusively by the employer with very little employee
contribution, and that's a bit of an inequity as opposed to the policy in
your budget guidance.
We mentioned monitoring federal and state unfunded mandates,
and we'll continue to do that. I wanted to mention that your
Unincorporated Area General Fund, which historically had funded
operations in your parks and your code enforcement and some of your
other operating areas, is becoming more and more of a funding source
for capital projects. And as the growth moves from west to east, I
think we're going to see more and more pressure on the
Unincorporated Area General Fund to provide capital improvement
dollars.
And as I mentioned, finally, there's always the need to balance the
desire on the staff's part to grow your reserves to make sure the Board
has adequate flexibility to address unforeseen conditions against the --
you know, the challenges of keeping up the day-to-day operations with
more people coming to the community and the demands for -- high
demands for service.
So, Commissioners, I'll just conclude by telling you that the -- in
our view the 2018 proposed budget meets your guidance, it maintains
the General Fund operating millage rate. It does also include a
quarter-mill increase for a restart of the Conservation Collier program
consistent with this board's direction earlier in the year. We've
increased General Fund reserves by over $5 million; continue to
attempt to allocate dollars for employee compensation adjustment
consistent with the cost-of-living increases. We continue to maintain a
compliant debt position that continues to decrease. We believe we've
June 15, 2017
Page 22
addressed the state and federal unfunded mandates, and we'll continue
to do that through adequate reserves. We've enhanced your front-line
operating services, placed a priority on expanded operations and
allocations to your asset maintenance and replacement program.
And with that, again, I'm pleased to open it up to questions. I'm
sorry it took so long.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders, any
questions?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: One question, but first, very
well done. That's a very thorough description of the budget, and I
think certainly sets the stage for us to go into the details. So I want to
thank you for that very fine presentation.
MR. OCHS: You're welcome.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just one little technical
question.
On the communication services tax, I thought the legislature had
held local governments harmless on the cut so that your revenue from
that would not be decreased.
MR. OCHS: Mark, do you want to address that?
MR. ISACKSON: Sir, they have. I'm just being real cautious.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So that 250- may not
really get --
MR. ISACKSON: We actually may tick above our neutral
position in '17, this year. But I just like to be a little cautious on that
because, you know, there have -- every year there's discussion about --
but, you're right, there has been -- at least the legislation that's been
considered has held the municipalities and local governments
harmless, but you never know. That could change.
MR. OCHS: And, of course, sir, as you know with the budget
cycles being different at the state and the local level, the state fiscal
year starts 1 July, which is the last quarter of our FY18 budget cycle.
June 15, 2017
Page 23
So if there was some reduction that came out of legislature and some
of that filtered into the last quarter, we just try to be conservative about
that.
Madam Chair, if there's not any other questions...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Just -- I've got some as we get more
into the details, but I'm just curious if, in your opinion, we're too reliant
on the ad valorem taxes, are we going to have a discussion as to how to
address that, or when would we have that discussion in terms of what
we're doing today?
MR. OCHS: Well, Commissioners, yes. And to your credit, as a
board, you've begun those discussions. In the fall we're going to be
coming back to you with the second stage of a board-approved
feasibility study on the potential for implementing a stormwater utility
fee. That is a fee that, if it gets implemented, will provide some of that
diversity in the revenue stream and take some of the pressure off the
General Fund and the Unincorporated Area General Fund ad valorem
revenues that have been applied historically to the capital and the
operations of your stormwater system. So that's an example.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Okay.
MR. OCHS: Commissioner Taylor mentioned at the board
meeting on Tuesday that the Chamber of Commerce, I believe, is
doing some work on the potential for some type of a public vote on the
potential of a sales surtax. And, again, that again would take pressure
off of your ad valorem revenues; allow you to, perhaps, offset your --
or lower your property tax millage in favor of an increase in revenue
from state sales taxes.
So those are the kinds of alternative revenues that I think we're
going to continue to remind you to consider and you have looked at so
far.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Thank you.
June 15, 2017
Page 24
MR. ISACKSON: Just, if I can, County Manager, there's been a
number of national periodicals that have suggested that on a net budget
basis your ad valorem taxes should come in around 25 percent. We're
at 30 right now. And within the General Fund, you're at about 70
percent right now, and that should be roughly 50 percent. So there are
some benchmarks to go off of in terms of the national averages when it
comes to these types of revenue sources and their makeup.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala? Any questions,
ma'am?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, ma'am, I have none.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
Commissioner McDaniel.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just as a matter of semantics,
when we go through the more detailed portion of our hearings here, are
we going to have discussions about the sales tax collected, gas tax
collected, how much of that gets shipped to Tallahassee, how much of
that do we, in fact, get back and what we're due, and are there
mechanisms that we can do to increase our revenues other than just
increased taxes?
MR. ISACKSON: Well, I'll answer that question by saying, sir,
that you're a donor county, number one. There's -- you don't have a
point of sale, as Commissioner Saunders will certainly note. You ship
money out.
So you're kind of landlocked in terms of sales tax. And there's a
very specific and complicated formula that the state uses to distribute
sales tax and to distribute revenue sharings, so there's not much we can
do about that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Other than fix what's going on
in the legislature.
MR. ISACKSON: That's my suggestion.
MR. OCHS: Yes. The other component of that, real quickly,
June 15, 2017
Page 25
unlike that general sales tax formula, I believe that a sales surtax, you
know, you keep that revenue, or most of that, here local, and it doesn't
go through that same distribution formula. So you really recapture all
the money that's being paid locally and it stays here in that type of a
sales surtax as opposed to the general sales tax, which Mark says goes
all up to Tallahassee, goes through this complicated formula, and then
it gets reallocated out, and we're typically a donor in that regard.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We all had the pleasure of
watching that machine --
MR. OCHS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- this past spring, so -- and it
wasn't for us.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Is that all, sir?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So are we going to be talking
about those in more detail later on as to how that very complicated
formula is ascertained and how much of a deficit community, in fact,
are we, and are we going to have further discussions on those things?
MR. ISACKSON: You can talk about it, sir, but my answer's
going to be the same.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I understand. And if this is not
the time nor place, then I'll corner you --
MR. OCHS: No, that's fine. I will tell you honestly, you know,
the budget briefings that we're prepared to give on the details of our
recommended spending plan doesn't really anticipate a long discussion
about the state sales tax formula. There's not a lot we can do about it
today. I mean, we can lobby the legislature, but --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I understand. We do put forth
budget initiatives and lobby initiatives on an annual basis --
MR. OCHS: Sure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- when we're outside of this
session. And I don't want to take a lot of time; I just want -- I want the
June 15, 2017
Page 26
public to know that there are other mechanisms and revenue streams
that can come to us that don't necessitate raising your tax.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Those state formulas, though,
they're there to protect us from Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County.
The large counties would gobble up everything if it wasn't for those.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I understand.
MR. OCHS: And we can note that in your upcoming legislative
priority agenda that we'll be discussing with you as soon as you get
back from your summer break, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
MR. OCHS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And then I just -- oh, I'm sorry. You
finished?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I am. Well, for now.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Just a question that -- I don't think it
should be now, because I think we need to discuss the budget in detail,
but at the end of whenever this is, today or tomorrow, I'd like to talk a
little bit about the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and their --
their ambition to put a sales tax surcharge, sur --
MR. OCHS: Surtax, yeah.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- surtax on the 2018 agenda. But we
don't have to do -- I don't think it's appropriate now; is that correct? It's
not --
MR. OCHS: Well, no, ma'am; it's not your initiative. It's not
mine. I can call the, you know, representatives from the Chamber and
ask them to be here at the appropriate time, but I don't want to speak
for them.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. That would be great. Thank
you.
MR. OCHS: Thank you. Madam Chair, if it's okay, we can
move forward.
June 15, 2017
Page 27
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think so, yeah.
MR. OCHS: Thanks so much. And I'll turn this over to Mr.
Isackson to take us through the rest of the agenda.
MR. ISACKSON: Thank you, County Manager Ochs.
Courts and Related Agencies (State Attorney and Public Defender)
The first up is our court system. If you could step up, Chuck and
Mr. Russell and the folks. While they're coming up to the podium, I
might say that my office, Clerk's finance, really enjoy our relationship
with the court system. They have and we have continued to work
budget magic in spite of Article 5 revenues and the unpredictability of
the Article 5 revenue process. So my thanks to the Court system for
their work and their diligence.
So with that, I'll turn it over to Chuck.
MR. RICE: Thank you, Mark.
Good morning, Madam Chair, Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good morning.
MR. RICE: Commissioner Fiala, I'm glad to hear you're doing
well.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you so much.
MR. RICE: For the record, my name's Chuck Rice. I'm the Court
Administrator here in Collier County.
Make some introductions. Here to my left is our Administrative
Judge, Judge Christine Greider.
JUDGE GREIDER: Good morning.
MR. RICE: To my right is our Public Defender, Kathy Smith.
MS. SMITH: Good morning.
MR. RICE: And to her right are State Attorney Steve Russell,
and to his right is Debbie Stanbro (phonetic) of the State Attorney's
Office.
June 15, 2017
Page 28
MS. STANBRO: Hi.
MR. RICE: So, again, we all want to thank you for your
continued support of the court system and Leo and Mark and their
staff's help throughout the year on this. And Mark is correct, we do
enjoy a great working relationship with them along with the Sheriff
and the Clerk and everybody involved. You know, sometimes it takes
a community, and we're all in with that.
I'm happy here to present a budget that meets compliance while
providing the highest level of professional services at the lowest
possible cost to the taxpayers.
We're presenting here today a $5.4 million budget for a net cost of
$2 million to the General Fund. Although it's a small percentage of the
budget -- you saw on one of Leo slides, we're less than 1 percent of the
overall budget; however, we do take it very seriously and try to be
fiscally responsible and good stewards of the county's money.
You know, it's an exciting time here in Collier County in the
criminal justice system. I know that the commissioners had a
workshop last week on mental health and addiction that was well
attended. We had a symposium yesterday with David Bennett on a
long-term range strategic plan for a master plan and the jail population.
Some recommendations that came out of that, I'll come back --
circle back on that, because at this point our presented budget has no
expanded FTEs, but we may be, as a group, the State Attorney, Public
Defender, and Court Administration, may be requesting an expanded
position upon his recommendation, which is three FTEs for specialty
court coordinators. One for the State, one for the Public Defender, and
one for the courts. That's basically to help expand the program, get
people in there quicker, and accomplish a lot of the things --
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: The treatment courts.
MR. RICE: The treatment courts, yes. That entails -- Judge
Martin oversees them: Drug court, mental-health court and our
June 15, 2017
Page 29
veterans court. Judge Greider used to have a great part with the drug
court in the past also.
But they're outstanding programs. Not only is the court system
excited about it and the State and Public Defender as a unified process,
but even the stakeholders. I mean, with the direction this board and the
interest the Board shows, David Lawrence Center, other stakeholders
in the community are excited about this time here.
So we are in the forefront here. A brief overview of what we do
in the courts. Basically, we meet all of the best practices set forth by
the National Center of State Courts. We have a unified family court
system fully in place here, thanks to Judge Greider. She implemented
that and saw that through. She also serves on the Supreme Court
Committee on long-range strategic planning on unified family court,
families and children.
We have a full-blown case management system in all of our
courts, and that's basically holding our judges to time frames, you
know; see if they can meet those standards and putting the attorneys
and everybody involved, the State, Public Defender, on time standards.
And I can tell you, in our criminal courts, we monitor that, and we're
meeting over 80 percent of those time standards, which is the
benchmark; 80 percent is a success. We're over that.
You know, we had -- you know, David Bennett, the consultants,
raved about Judge Martin and her demeanor with our specially courts.
What a job she's doing. We want to give her more work; that's why we
want these case managers. Let's get some more people in there and
help her.
Your Probation Department, County Probation Department, is
recognized as one of the most progressive and best in the state. All of
our probation officers here in Collier County are crisis CIT trained,
crisis intervention trained, that deal with people suffering from
mental-health issues that they come in contact with.
June 15, 2017
Page 30
We enjoy a great relationship with the sheriff. We're out there
checking on them in the field with deputies at night, doing drug
screens. We have risk assessment tools in place. We use the
criminogenic risk factors. We have a robust diversion program that we
monitor for the State Attorney's Office. Right now we currently have
251 people in that diversion program.
We have a juvenile diversion program called teen court which not
only helps divert some juveniles in the juvenile system, but it's a great
volunteer thing also for students that come in and volunteer as judges,
prosecuting attorneys, and such.
We have a self-help center that was implemented about a year and
a half ago. Currently, we're look at probably serving 800 to 1,000
people with that self-help center this year. Those are people that are
self-represented that can go in there and get forms and help them
through the process of the court system.
I would be remiss in mentioning that, you know, when we
mention about all this great stuff we're doing, it also has impact on our
Clerk, and our Clerk has been terrific in supplying other clerks -- you
know, as we expand courts and different things, it impacts them also.
So we thank Dwight and his staff for their cooperation and
willingness to put clerks in those courts.
And with that being said, I turn it over to Judge Greider first for
any comments or --
JUDGE GREIDER: I have nothing to add other than a big thank
you for the workshop that was initiated through Commissioner Solis to
have a real discussion and dialogue about what's happening in the
community and how that creates issues that interface with the criminal
justice system as well as children and courts. So thank you for the
opportunity last week.
MR. RICE: Kathy?
MS. SMITH: Again, thank you for everything; thank you for
June 15, 2017
Page 31
both of the workshops. We really thoroughly enjoyed attending those
as well.
I actually have the privilege of serving on the Supreme Court
Task Force for mental health and substance abuse. So I know that
what we are doing in our local communities is really top-notch. But to
make it to the next level after our -- after our symposiums the last
couple weeks, there would be some extra things that we would add in
-- you know, in a world where we could get what we needed.
So we've presented our budget today. Again, as Chuck said, it
does not include those. I think the direction that we had got from the
Commission and from the county was to come as a unified front telling
you what we all need.
So, respectfully, I would request you look at our budgets but
maybe give us a little bit more time to come with a united front as to
what we would need to properly and intelligently expand those courts.
But thank you for everything you do.
MR. RUSSELL: For the record, Steve Russell, State Attorney.
I would just piggyback on the comments, not be repetitive. But
the primary focus of these specialty courts coordinators which go
across drug court, mental-health court, and veterans courts are, again,
to attack the root causes of inordinate criminal activity by those
individuals suffering from addiction/mental-health problems which are
sometimes also related to veteran experience in that regard.
So we're trying, bottom line, to quickly move these offenders
through the system by assuring that they receive the proper treatment,
thereby eliminating costly jail time, but it also allows us to continue to
protect the safety of our community and the community in the future
by reducing recidivism. Jail cost is inordinate. These are non-attorney
positions -- we'll put together the costs -- basically reflecting social
work, clinical drug background, that type of person.
We have the experience of this coordinator in one of our other
June 15, 2017
Page 32
counties within our circuit, and we see it around the state. It's efficient;
it's effective; it's a cost-saving measure in the long run.
So I just, again, piggyback what Chuck and Kathy said, and that
we'll be putting that together and addressing it, and I think it's a good
thing for the community.
And, again, I, too, for the State Attorney's Office, appreciate the
support the Commission has given us with these programs. I think the
community, I hope, is understanding the importance of them and the
cost effectiveness of them in the long run as taxpayers.
MS. STANBRO: I have nothing to add.
MR. RUSSELL: Debbie is my executive director and support
person. She's the technical.
MR. RICE: We'll be happy to take any questions at this time.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I would just add that the symposium
yesterday in the jail was fascinating.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It really was.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It was fascinating, and some of the
recommendations that came out of that, you know, I think without that
symposium -- or some of them were so counterintuitive, I was just
sitting there scratching my head going, wow. You know, the data
shows that what we thought would create a good result just had the
opposite effect. I mean, the whole issue with the use of bail and -- but,
anyway, so I think it's -- it was a wonderful thing. It's perfect timing, I
think, as we're moving forward.
And, again, I would just point out that, you know, we have an
adversarial system, right; we have the State Attorney's Office, we have
the Public Defender here, we have the court here, but they're all unified
in what needs to happen. So I think we need to pay attention to that.
And thank you for everything you do and also being willing to
think outside of the box. I mean, I think that was one of the things that
June 15, 2017
Page 33
we saw yesterday was we really have to start looking at these things
maybe from a different paradigm, right. We have to be aware of the
paradigm that we're kind of stuck in. And I think this is one of those
areas that's absolutely true, so thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, I have nothing except great
report.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. And I just wanted to
speak with Ms. -- to Ms. Kathy's statement. We're not locked in at this
stage of the game. This is the process. You're presenting your budget.
We've got more time. We've got more information coming to us and
adjustments along the way.
So as additional information, additional needs comes -- I actually
wanted to know who set up the seating arrangements today just to
make you two sit beside one another, the Public Defender and the
State's Attorney at the same time.
But I think it speaks volumes as to what information is being
provided and how our community is actually recognizing that, though
it is established as an adversarial relationship, we're seeing regularly,
through communication, that we're all here for the greater good.
So, I'm not mistaken in that timing standpoint, am I?
MR. ISACKSON: Well --
MR. OCHS: No, you're not.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: About time. That's the first
time I was right today.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: What is the time frame?
MR. OCHS: Well, I think what the commissioner was saying is,
you know, the budget is not over till it's over, and it's over in
September when you adopt it finally.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: In September.
June 15, 2017
Page 34
MR. OCHS: Now, having said that, in terms of your General
Fund and your ad valorem revenue stream, you make that call on the
11th of July in terms of your maximum millage. You can lower it in
September, but it takes an act of God to raise it at that point.
So in terms of General Fund expenses, you're pretty well locked
in on your General Fund, at least in terms of your millage rate, in July.
But Commissioner McDaniel is correct, we have time over the
summer, and part of the reason for these workshops is if the Board has
changes they want us to evaluate, we have the opportunity to do that
and report those back out at your first budget hearing in September and
tell you, you know, what the impacts of those changes would be.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you. That's the way I
was leaning.
MR. OCHS: Yes, sir.
And, Madam Chair, if I might -- and I don't want to pin you all
down but, Mr. Rice, if you have a general preliminary estimate of the
amount of additional dollars that might be required to accomplish the
objectives that you all have outlined, just for a range so the Board has
some order of magnitude.
MR. RICE: Well, I can tell you right now we should be able to
do this relatively quickly, get our requests and work with Mark's
office, but we're looking at three positions for an all-in number of
about 186,000. That's for a salary of 38- to 40,000 plus benefits for
three positions.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just a couple quick things.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: First of all, I want to thank
Commissioner Solis for his leadership on this whole issue of trying to
divert people out of the court system, out of the prisons, into treatment
that's required and a whole lot cheaper than incarceration.
There's a program in Lee County and, Steve, you may be familiar
June 15, 2017
Page 35
with it, the Bob Janes Center.
MR. RUSSELL: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah. I don't know if we have
that type of facility here or that type of a program here and, if we don't,
what is your opinion as to whether something like that might be viable
and valuable?
MR. RUSSELL: Kathy's probably more directly familiar with
that, but we've had that as one of, hopefully, an umbrella.
MS. SMITH: Yeah. Lee County is actually one of the few places
that has a triage, and what it does is it actually gives law enforcement
officers the option to take someone to jail or take them to a triage unit
where they can be assessed for mental health, substance abuse,
homelessness issues, and things of that nature.
That was one of the things that Mr. Bennett talked about
yesterday. It wasn't named triage when he talked about it yesterday,
but that was in the concept of what he talked about. He talked about
quite a few things, like a community corrections center for people
transferring out of jail back into the community but also did talk about
that as something that we need. We do not have that currently in
Collier County, but it was part of the jail master plan program.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: So would it be your general
recommendation that that type of a triage facility would be a benefit?
MS. SMITH: I think it would be. The community corrections
that he talked about is on the back end. This is something that's on the
front end where somebody does not ever enter into the jail. It's a
situation where they can address those needs there. And they have
wrap-around services that deal with all of the issues that brought the
person there in the first place, so it's a wonderful concept.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: The other part of that issue is
that there is a state agency that funds those. The legislature provides a
grant to the state agency, and the agency divvies that up amongst the
June 15, 2017
Page 36
triage facilities.
I would suggest just -- obviously, it's not going to affect this
budget cycle necessarily, but I suggest the staff take a look at that. It's
called the Bob Jane's triage facility. It's been in place for many, many
years. I think they work very closely with the Salvation Army, and we
now have a new big Salvation Army facility that's just opening up. So
that may be a way to catch people on the front end as well.
MS. SMITH: Right.
MR. OCHS: Will do.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. I have no questions.
MR. ISACKSON: Thank you.
Growth Management
Commissioners, if we can, we'll have Mr. French and his
leadership team, Growth Management, next.
Commissioners, just as a reminder, you have tabs in your book
that correspond to the actual presentation sequencing. So -- and also, if
there's members of the audience that want to approach Mr. Klatzkow
or Mr. Casalanguida with speaker slips, please do so.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Forgot that. Thank you,
Mark.
Good morning.
MR. FRENCH: Good morning, Commissioners, Madam Chair.
Commissioners, I first would like to thank the leadership team:
Mr. Isackson, the County Manager's Office. Clearly, our work
sometimes goes unnoticed other than when you're driving around town
and you see a lot of traffic. But no complaints are sometimes good,
but no complaints are sometimes bad.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no, no. When you drive around
town and roads are blocked --
June 15, 2017
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MR. FRENCH: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- because of construction. I think
Commissioner Solis can attest to that.
MR. FRENCH: But at the end of day, Commissioners, I'd like to
just highlight that the people that aren't represented here, that aren't
here with us, are your staff that are back at the office, that are in the
field, that are doing Yeoman's work to make sure that we meet board
policy, state requirements, as well as federal requirements on a daily
basis.
And we're very appreciative of our staff and the support that we
receive. And if I didn't mention, inclusive of Mr. Klatzkow's office;
we truly couldn't do it without him. So we thank him very much.
Commissioners, although -- and I don't want to be repetitive of
what the County Manager has already said, but although Collier
County continues to witness strong growth trends, we have begun to
see some leveling off. It doesn't necessarily mean that we're not busy,
but when we look at a comparison of our FY16 numbers to FY17,
there are only minor or, you know, slight differences. And what I
mean by that is when you look at your overall permits, for instance, for
development, our numbers are ranging from somewhere between 70 to
80 on an annual basis, increase, but just slight increases.
Clearly, we anticipate seeing more of those come in as we see the
state make changes to our building codes, as we see state requirements
change. There will be a run on permitting during those times,
primarily because there's a savings to the developer, and that's not
atypical, and it's something that we're geared for.
The budget that we're presenting today, it's an overall value of
$242 million; 120 million of that is made up of operating, with 123
million, just slightly under 123 million, is made up of our capital.
Just to let you know that 58 percent of our operating, which is
roughly about $70 million, are made up of restricted-use funds. So
June 15, 2017
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those are funds for building, for land development services that cannot
be used for general government funding type purposes. Primarily that
113 is guarded by state statute.
Current staffing levels, within this budget we are requesting five
expanded positions. Those positions would primarily be with our asset
management and our capital management and maintenance programs
within the landscape and operations of the capital side of our house.
We are not requesting any expanded positions within our --
within our 113 and 131 funds, our Enterprise Funds, as we remain -- as
we continue to remain cautiously optimistic, we are fully utilizing job
bank staff. We've carried just under 50 job bank staff for probably the
last three years. There is some turnover there, but essentially what we
gear them up for is we build a bench. As we start to see attrition of our
full-time staff, it gives you an opportunity to hire from within.
We also have contract labor that the Board has allowed for
through contractors such as Nova Engineering, which we have the
ability -- in the event of service spike, let's say, or increase in demand,
we have the ability to call on Nova, and typically they respond within
48 to 72 hours.
The divisions that make up the development services element of
Growth Management continue to respond to our development activity
while adhering to local, state, and federal regulatory requirements.
Our team continues to focus on improving processes, assessing
industry as well as community trends, and reducing obsolete regulatory
hurdles. And what I mean by that is not so much to help people
around the code, but to utilize things like LDC amendments before you
as well as our Hearing Examiner's Office.
We're exceptionally appreciative of the latest item that was
brought forward to you and passed that allowed for our Hearing
Examiner to continue on with the Planned Unit Development
insubstantial change process. That is a big job, and we work very
June 15, 2017
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closely with our Hearing Examiner and are appreciative of your
support.
As mentioned earlier, we had targeted building fee cuts that will
become effective on October 1st, 2017, that will equate to about a $1.6
million savings to our industry that would be passed down to the
customers, hopefully.
We are anticipating additional fee adjustments for our land
development services, and at that time we may bring back for further
consideration potentially some conversion of some of the job bankers
that we have if we see any continued growth in those areas.
Business activity within those areas, roughly about 40,000
permits, as I said earlier, versus 39,000 the year prior, and we
performed 224,000 building inspections. Fifty-three inspectors; great
team.
Capital projects that we have lined up for the North Horseshoe
building. The building was built in 1987; it's 30 years old. We -- for
the last couple years we've had on there -- and we plan to execute this
year -- replacing the air conditioning system within that building. The
ductwork, as you can imagine, does not meet current code, certainly
does not meet current efficiency standards. In one side of the building
you might find it to be about 70; on the other side it might be a balmy
93. But I will tell you, staff does a great job putting up with it.
We also intend to replace our backup generator that would
provide service to the entire building versus just parts of the building.
And these are out of our Enterprise Funds. There's no impact at all to
the taxpayers or to the ratepayers. These are budgeted items that we've
planned out over the years.
Our GMD capital and maintenance divisions continue to
effectively execute a diverse portfolio of countywide construction and
maintenance programs.
As identified in previous workshops, as well as within our AUIR,
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we work within a five-year window. So typically our projects go out
five years, we budget up to those, we set aside monies, encumber those
monies for future years before we actually execute. Typically, there's a
planning, there's a study, and then there's permitting acquisition or the
acquiring of right-of-way in many of the cases where we want to
execute a project before we go into construction.
Now, what we've done in the past -- and my apologies. When
David left at the end of March, he didn't leave me a manual on how to
-- on how to get this to you -- and I take full responsibility of it. But
we have available a 2018 capital projects notebook in the event that
any of the board members would like to actually look at our 2018
projects. This goes into much more detail than what the budget
allowed, what the budget offers you, but also what happens is these
items will actually come back as well within your AUIR.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think that would be wonderful.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I don't know if Sherry's listening.
Maybe you can make us a copy, Sherry.
MR. FRENCH: We have copies available right now.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, we've got copies here.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I think he anticipated the
response.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: What do you mean "what if," right?
Thank you.
MR. FRENCH: And real quick, let me back up and apologize.
To my left is Mr. Jay Ahmad. Jay is our -- Jay is your Director of
Transportation Engineering; Gene Shue is the Operations Director for
the capital management and construction side; and, of course, to my
right is Mr. Ken Kovensky who is the Operations Director, both
operations' directors. Ken heads up the -- more the Enterprise Fund for
Development Services.
June 15, 2017
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MR. SHUE: And if I might, Jamie.
Again, Gene Shue, Operations Support Director.
The binder that you have in front of you is something that my
folks prepared, and it gets into that five-year plan that we discussed.
So you'll see that five-year planning cycle. And the reality is, for a few
key areas we go out even further. Coastal zone we go out 10 years;
bridges, we actually go out 20 years.
You also see in there there are maps that show the location of the
proposed FY18 projects as well as the spending or work plan for the
subsequent four years within that five-year planning cycle. It's also key
-- and I know Jamie's going to get into the details, but it's also key to
note that for the FY18 column within those five-year plans, obviously
it's balanced because, you know, we're dealing with a balanced budget,
what we propose to be funded and what can be executed.
What you'll notice in the other four years, sometimes we're upside
down, and those are the areas in which we are going to deal with some
proposed debt or some proposed extra funding in the case of
stormwater with the stormwater utility initiative.
So if you look on there, again, you'll notice '18 balanced, you'll
see revenues, you'll see expenditures, but the other years you'll see
upside down, and notably the bridges. The bridges -- we have 11
bridges east of State Road 29 that are under design. I believe Jamie's
group is going to be coming to you soon. I'm sorry?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: East of 951, not 29.
MR. AHMAD: East of 29, actually, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Eleven bridges east of 29?
MR. SHUE: I think it's actually nine of the 11. There's two that
are just west, but it's all in the eastern part of the county.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: There's a map here.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
MR. SHUE: And you'll see all those bridges noted on there.
June 15, 2017
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Actually, you'll see 13 because there were two for replacement in
FY18.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I just was -- again, State Road
29 is -- we have 11 -- we have nine bridges east of 29?
MR. SHUE: Sure.
MR. AHMAD: Yes, sir.
MR. SHUE: And if you go to that orange tab -- I'm sorry, it's
actually the second tab. It's -- well, whatever color that is.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'll look at it. I mean, you just
threw this book at us. I'll look at it.
MR. SHUE: You'll see all the bridges on there, and you'll see
descriptions of the individual bridges. But, again, two are slated for
replacement in '18 -- they're the ones that are not out east -- but there
are 11 that Jay's group will be coming to you with a design contract
that right now are slated for construction or at least the letting of the
contracts in FY19.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: For the public and also for this
commission, could you please explain the length of time between the
repairs on these bridges, if any, in terms of when they were
constructed, if they've been renovated in a time, and why this is so
important besides the public transportation.
MR. AHMAD: Jay Ahmad, for the record.
These 11 bridges actually were built over 60 years old -- most of
them are 60 years old or older. They're not major bridges. They're 20
to 40 feet in length.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Out on County Line and Oil
Well Road?
MR. AHMAD: Correct. That's right. On Immokalee Road east
of 29, on County Line Road. Those bridges have been declared -- the
FDOT inspects them every two years, and they have shown their age,
and we are tending to them.
June 15, 2017
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If you recall, this commission has actually declared an emergency
on one of them, and if you look out there, it's being supported by
temporary measures. And we're actually looking at them quarterly to
make sure that they are in good shape.
MR. SHUE: And, again -- and this is part of the asset
management process that you folks have heard a lot about and the
county, countywide, is investing heavily in.
You know, it's all about optimizing these assets. And what you
find with the bridges is they're being inspected, I think, twice a year
now, and there are steps you can take. You can take some of these
wood pilings. You can encase them in concrete to lengthen their life.
But that wood can continue to decay. So you're running the risk that
these intermediate measures could fail, and then you'd have some more
extensive measures. That's why you have to plan these things out
carefully.
In this case these are bridges, again, that are 60 years old. Had
asset management been in place more robustly in the past, maybe this
would have been planned a little differently. But the truth is, now we
have 11 of these coming due at once, which is why the routine funding
-- which we put about $7 million a year towards our bridge repair and
replacement program. But when you get 11 come at once, you know,
at a cost of three, three-and-a-half million apiece, that's a lot of money.
So we're projecting to be short in the $17 million range going out
to '19. So that's one of those things that the County Manager and
OMB will be coming forward to say, you know, these are
supplemental funding needs.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Did you say these are wood pilings?
The bridges are built on wood pilings?
MR. FRENCH: Some are.
MR. AHMAD: Some are.
MR. SHUE: Many of which are now wrapped -- encased in
June 15, 2017
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concrete.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: But still, I mean, it's a wood piling.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Sixty years ago.
MR. AHMAD: That was the method of construction for piling.
Some of them are rotted out to a degree that -- you know, we've been
repairing them constantly.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No lighter pine, obviously, right?
MR. SHUE: Under the circumstances, it's amazing they've given
the service that they have. But, again, it's because staff and outside
contractors are constantly monitoring the condition of these bridges.
MR. FRENCH: So, Commissioners, if I might, one of the things
that Gene did not mention -- that was also roads in future years. Now,
if you remember, I brought you an item on the Vanderbilt Beach Road
extension. So as we look into '19, probably through '21 fiscal year,
there will be -- based off of Board direction, there could potentially be
a need for additional debt service that would be required for the
construction of these roads.
Again, these items will be coming back to you within your AUIR,
and if you have any further questions, we're here to answer them now,
or we'll make ourselves readily available for you in the future.
One thing that I'd also like to mention, with one of our capital
projects -- and it doesn't really have much to do with capital, but it
does have to do with our operating, and the operating at the airport is
projected to be in its fourth year of positive cash flow. So it has not
been a burden on the operating side but has been sustainable.
There's also been some opportunities. I know from the regulatory
side we've had an opportunity to collocate an office there to where we
were able to actually have 113 pay their fair share or 131 pay their fair
share to rent that office and to help renovation/pay for needed
renovations to the building. And cosmetic, but still, brought it back up
to Collier County standards, if you will.
June 15, 2017
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I know that limerock roads may be a --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I was wondering when we
were going to get to that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It sounds like a country western song.
MR. FRENCH: What's that, ma'am? Which part?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Limerock roads.
MR. FRENCH: Well, I didn't bring my guitar, so -- the limerock
road, we do have $300,000 annually that's put towards limerock road
conversion.
Gene and his team has gone back and looked at what the cost to
convert the remaining limerock roads would be throughout the county.
That would equate to about $3 million. Now, the payback or the return
on investment, we would see that within about six years if you look at
the overall maintenance costs that we put into, annually, within these
limerock roads if we made that investment. We do know that that's
near and dear to Commissioner McDaniel's heart. And I know, in
previous years, in my nearly 14 years here, it's always been -- it's
always been discussed annually, so...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Has the rest of the Board seen
the analysis that Mr. Shue did?
MR. FRENCH: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Could we make that available
to the balance of the Board digitally? I can have it emailed to you. It's
-- we've been talking about this. I've been talking about this similar
issue with staff for quite some time, and there is -- it's -- he's done an
amazing job.
And, as Jamie said, the prior commissioners of District 5 all the
way back when -- from when Commissioner Coletta was here -- I have
it. Thank you. But this is the gravel roads and limerock roads, per the
song title, Madam Chair, have been an ongoing issue for our
community for -- since GAC gave us these road right-of-ways, so --
June 15, 2017
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and I think I heard from Mr. Isackson that the acceleration -- he's
hiding -- the man behind the curtain over there. The acceleration of the
current 15-year plan for the paving of those roads is not going to
require any debt. Did I hear that?
MR. ISACKSON: Excuse me, Commissioners. I think if it's -- if
it's pay/go'd properly, we could probably cut that down to maybe a
three-year duration. That's what I've been talking to Mr. Shue about,
provided that the County Manager and I have some discretion in
determining how that's taken care of.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That sounds like you need control.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: He wants control.
MR. ISACKSON: Sure.
MR. OCHS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. So it --
MR. SHUE: And just logistically, one year may not work out.
The analysis time frame was now versus 10 years. If we do it over
three years, it still yields a positive return. It's still cost effective to do
that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I think it was about a 7 percent
return when we took it out over a three-year -- in one of your original
proposals that you and I spoke about. So it's still a decent rate of
return, and it is an elimination of a big issue in our community.
MR. SHUE: Sure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's health, safety, and welfare
issue.
MR. OCHS: So, Commissioners, with your consensus -- and the
staff would like the opportunity to look at that in terms of
implementation in your budget over the summer and bring back some
recommendations along the lines that were just outlined here of a
three-year program to get all those bridges replaced on a pay/go basis
without incurring new debt.
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Not bridges. Paving the road.
MR. OCHS: I'm sorry. Limerock road paving, yes. I'm still on
bridges. Thank you.
MR. FRENCH: Commissioners, my only final item, as we look
at our challenges and opportunities in the future, one of the things that
we're -- we struggle with is the cost of labor, cost of contractor labor,
the availability of contract labor. So we are currently looking at our
own program to determine -- and I'll give you a great example is
concrete, concrete vendors. They're very hard to find, and they're very
expensive. It's hard to find a qualified concrete vendor, let's say that,
or a qualified concrete contractor.
So we're actually looking at and drawing comparables to what
would that cost be if we did that in-house. So beyond looking at
efficiencies throughout our entire organization, staffing up with the
right people when the staffing becomes available, when those
opportunities -- we're also looking at how we can capture additional
efficiencies and cost savings within our own maintenance
organizations to determine how we might be able to be in better
control of that as well as we go forward.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: This is more the smaller projects, the
sidewalks?
MR. FRENCH: Yes, ma'am, that's right.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: The slabs, that kind of thing, walls?
MR. FRENCH: This helps us truly avoid the break/fix situation
that allows for us to properly maintain our own assets, rather than
waiting for something to get so bad that we're in front of you and
asking for new debt and on a bridge that is still on wood pilings.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Okay. For a minute there, I thought
you were suggesting we operate a concrete mine -- I mean, a concrete
--
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I was envisioning --
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER SOLIS: -- production facility.
MR. FRENCH: Not there yet. No, sir. No, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: If you decide you want to, I
have --
MR. FRENCH: Not at all, and I appreciate the opportunity for
the clarification.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I can help you. Well -- and if I
may ask him a question with regard to that. You talked specifically
about concrete contract -- are you talking about the guys that smooth
the concrete, or are you talking about the physical production plants,
supplier of concrete and the like?
MR. FRENCH: Predominately, because there's such a great
demand in the industry. You know, when they bid, we -- those bids
change over time. And so we're competing for that same concrete
contractor that the industry is.
So even though they may bid, by the time we actually get around
to hiring, pulling -- for lack of a better term, pulling the trigger to hire
that concrete contractor, he's already accepted additional work and he
-- no thanks.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: But somebody to do the work, the
form work, the finish work, all that, not the --
MR. FRENCH: Right. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: -- not supply.
MR. FRENCH: The supply is not our concern.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's where I was going,
number one.
MR. FRENCH: Contractor.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And number two -- and as
you're going through that, you know I like cost-benefit analysis.
MR. FRENCH: Certainly.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: When we bring on FTEs to
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perform work for us, there is an ongoing expense associated with
additional health benefits and retirement and things that go on in
perpetuity. And we don't want a knee-jerk reaction to circumstances
that are going on in the marketplace.
MR. SHUE: I anticipate performing that analysis in the next few
months.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I would assume so. I'm just
asking.
MR. SHUE: But, you know, it's interesting because I've only
been in the government five years, and in the private world, if you
come in way underbudget, it's considered a great thing. Here it means
you can't spend your money. You're not executing your mission. And
one of the things we look at is how well are we executing. And you
look at something like concrete, and we show big savings but, in
reality, it's because we can't find vendors to execute the work.
And we're taking -- our Road Maintenance Division is diverting
folks who were doing things like bridge maintenance, or should be,
and they have to work on the sidewalks because, statutorily, if you
have a crack in your sidewalk and someone trips, you have big
liability.
So, again, this is one of those cases where, you know, we're
below budget but not for a good reason, and we're looking to say, hey,
if we can't get outside contractors to execute the work, is it cost
effective to do it in-house?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And that's where we look over
at our County Attorney. I had the opportunity to traverse the sidewalks
of Tallahassee. Holy mackerel, those things are -- they don't follow
the same standards, Gene. Just so you know.
MR. FRENCH: Commissioners, we appreciate the opportunity to
provide you with this budget information. We're available to answer
any questions you might have.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Well, I was just going to say what a
great job I think you're doing and staff is doing. I know -- you know,
we've had somewhat of the perfect storm in District 2 recently with all
of the projects that are ongoing. And the bridge project, you know, on
Vanderbilt Drive, I hope we're still ahead of schedule on that.
MR. AHMAD: Yes, we are, sir.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: We are? Even with all the rain?
Wonderful.
MR. AHMAD: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Great job. And a great job keeping
the public informed on where that stands, how it's progressing. It's
been a great job; a job well done.
MR. FRENCH: Thank you. You can continue to count on us for
the communication efforts.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders, any
questions?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just, I guess, a question that
may not be relevant at all to this budget cycle. I think we're going to
be meeting to talk about Immokalee Road and the traffic problems
associated with all the proposed growth there. So that -- I look forward
to that. I appreciate that opportunity to see what, if anything, can be
done, because I don't know about anybody else's emails and telephone
calls, but that's about 95 percent of my email traffic and telephone calls
is due to the traffic on Immokalee Road.
MR. FRENCH: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
MR. FRENCH: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, any questions?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: None from me.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just one statement. The
landscape maintenance, is that all part of this capital program here?
MR. FRENCH: That's correct, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. I would like for us to
have a discussion with regard to that. One of the deficiencies that our
board, the County Commissioners at large, have is the -- personally we
were elected back in November two months into a fiscal year that was
already started, and then board policy set by, today, a rather different
board, and there were some suggest -- there were some things made by
policy of the prior board with regard to an increase in the
unincorporated ad valorem rates and devotion of monies to medians
and maintenance and the like. And I would like to -- I would like to
have an additional discussion with this board along those lines as to
those priorities and how they can be managed maybe in a different
manner. God bless you, Madam Chair.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Well --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So I don't know if today's the
day to do that or if that's something we do throughout the summer and
bring it back or...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We probably need Commissioner Fiala
present.
MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am. I --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, she's here in spirit.
MR. OCHS: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, I'm here full force.
MR. OCHS: I think maybe a discussion in the earlier fall on that
would be in order.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
MR. OCHS: Again, as I mentioned at the outset, this is a -- this
budget is always a dynamic instrument, and we've tried to design it to
June 15, 2017
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maximize your flexibility. So if you make a mid-term policy change
that affects the budget, we can always deal with that at any point in
time. But that's a -- that's a hot topic.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Tell me about it.
MR. OCHS: We've spent probably two years before this current
board even sat down on this subject, and there's as many opinions
about how to design them and what to put in them and how to irrigate
them and how to build them as there are people in this room.
So we have a board policy on the design standards,
best-management practices, and we've been executing on that in
accordance with the five-year capital plan that the prior board laid out.
So we're executing along those lines until otherwise directed.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Henceforth; that's why we're
going to talk about it.
MR. OCHS: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Job bankers. Do you -- is it -- is it
fairly -- I'm going to say it's simple. But you are able to hire who you
need to hire with the training you need to have in order to fill the
positions you need to fill?
MR. FRENCH: Typically, we've become a training ground
because --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
MR. FRENCH: -- there is -- even though they do receive
healthcare benefit, as well as FRS, they are not awarded the benefit of
vacation or sick time.
So we look at that primarily as a frontline service where you're
getting great customer service. Those type of staff members are much
easier to find than let's say an engineer or an architect or someone that
-- unless they've retired. And we've gotten some of those. We've been
very fortunate in that area.
But we like our current program. And what we've done in the
June 15, 2017
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past, as you may remember -- and I know Commissioner Fiala
remembers -- is we will come in with midyear reports to you, and at
that point we would team up with the industry and the community. We
want their support. We want your Development Services Advisory
Committee to say yes, you need this, staff. We want -- we want
buy-in. We don't want it to seem like we are just artificially growing
government for no good reason.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good.
And then, Commissioner Saunders, you might be able to help --
I'm sure you will -- with this. But the Southwest Florida Regional
Planning Council's future.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Not looking good.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah. And there seems to be a hiatus
right now with the arrows and the swords. But Sarasota, what I call the
Sarasota option, they determined that they could still be part of the
Regional Planning Council but not required to pay the dues.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Was that the City of Sarasota?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Because cities are different
than counties in that regard. The counties have to make the payment, I
believe, if I'm correct. Cities can opt out.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, I don't mean to interrupt, but I
received an email from my counterpart in Lee County yesterday --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: They did that same thing.
MR. OCHS: -- and it was a copy of a county commission
adopted resolution basically putting the other members on notice that
they are opting out.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: The county is.
MR. OCHS: I was planning on putting an item on your next
board agenda to discuss this and take our board's temperature on where
you want to head with this item.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Are counties permitted to opt
out? I was under the impression that they could not.
MR. KLATZKOW: Well, I think it's more of a mutiny than
anything else.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yes. I mean, I guess the
bottom line is the counties could refuse to make the payment. There
really isn't any remedy.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Which is a Sarasota -- Sarasota's option
was we're not going to pay, but we'll -- and we won't come to your
meetings, but consider us a member.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, they're coming to the
meetings. They just can't vote if they don't pay.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I think, statutorily, they have to
be a member and then -- but if they pay, then they don't get to vote.
And that's the rationale when I spoke with the County Commissioners
in Lee that they were moving on.
MR. OCHS: That's the research we're preparing for the staff.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right, fine. So you might have a
budget amendment.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And I have one other quick
question, if I may. I looked at my notes for Mr. Jamie before -- and I
know we've got to go to break. It's a quick question. I couldn't find
anything in here -- and there was some discussion with regard to the
interactive growth model. And I couldn't find -- is it appropriate in this
budget for the expansion of that model for our future land use
planning?
MR. FRENCH: Sir, it is. And for sake of time, I did not go
through and mention. But you approved a midyear staff adjustment.
That planner would be hired after October 1st. They would be -- they
June 15, 2017
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would be assigned to the interactive growth model as well as all future
comp use or comp planning amendments of those times that would in
our future use planning side of the house.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And the money necessary for
the enhancement of the model for the entire county is a portion of that
midyear?
MR. FRENCH: Yes, sir. Mr. Kovensky has worked very closely
with Mr. Bosi and his staff --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right.
MR. FRENCH: -- and we are geared up and ready to go.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Outstanding. I just -- when I
was perusing, I couldn't find it.
MR. FRENCH: My apologies. I know it was important to you,
and I did have it in my notes. But just for sake of time, I didn't mention
it.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Got it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So we're going to take a 10-minute
break, get back here at 10:55. We'll give you an extra minute. Thank
you very much.
(A brief recess was had.)
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, you're back on live mic.
We're moving next to our Public Services Department
presentation. Mr. Carnell.
Public Services
MR. CARNELL: Good morning, Commissioners. Steve Carnell,
Public Services Department.
Pleased to be here this morning, and I brought our management
team with us, a few of my closest friends.
And I want to take a moment to tell you a little bit about what we
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do. We are a little bit unique in the sense that we have eight very
front-facing high-visible divisions in the county, and I thought it best
to have everybody here this morning. I'm going to keep our comments
short and to the point, and I'll cover the major ground, and they can
help with any questions that you may have.
Just -- I'll do this -- I'll start by telling you that we are primarily
funded in our operations through the General Fund and through the
Unincorporated General Fund, and our budget request before you this
morning, for the General Fund, our costs are going up 2 percent for our
current level of service, and then we have, in addition to that, some
expanded service and new services that we want to present to you this
morning, and they cover four of the different divisions. And so I'll tell
you more about those in a moment.
In the unincorporated area are -- we have a five-and-a-half
percent increase, and that includes current service and our expanded
services as well. We are adding six positions or asking for six new
positions on the General Fund side and eight new positions in the
Unincorporated Fund. And that Unincorporated Fund, the bulk of the
increase there, and the entire increase for the staffing, is for the
operation of the new Eagle Lakes pool, which we are scheduled to
bring online in May.
So those -- we've got those two areas, and then in addition to that,
as we've already talked about this morning, we have Conservation
Collier, or the restart of Conservation Collier, in which the operating
budget does include two additional positions to support the acquisition
process and continue the ongoing maintenance of our 19 sites, and
we'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. So that's where we
are at a very highest level.
I'll begin by just introducing you to my team as we go down one
by one here. At the far end is Kim Grant, the Director or our
Community and Human Services Division. And many of you know
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that Kim is bringing forward her team, working with the community
stakeholders group and the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
bringing forth a community housing plan to this board that will be
coming for your consideration in September. And FY18 is going to be
focused on the implementation and roll out the next steps of that plan.
Also in the budget, and it's shown under CHS, is a $300,000
increase in funding for the David Lawrence Center. We currently
provide the David Lawrence Center a little over $1.6 million in
operating support. And we've put that number in there in support of
the discussion that may be forthcoming today regarding mental health
and the services that David Lawrence provides.
I will tell you upfront that number's not fully vetted. It's a number
that we put in place in anticipation of what the needs might be. And I
think you're going to hear this morning from Scott Burgess as a
registered speaker, and potentially some of our other mental-health
providers as well. So I would encourage you to hear from them after
we've finished our comments and you asked your questions.
Then next to Kim to Twyla Leigh. Twyla's our recently-hired
director of University of Florida Extension. She began with us in
October. And University of Florida Extension is a jointly funded
endeavor funded by the University of Florida and Collier County. And
Twyla is fortunate enough to have two bosses, one in Gainesville and
one here. And she does a great job of bringing things together and
make all that work.
I think if you've been reading the papers lately and you followed
the special legislative session, you may be aware that the University of
Florida took quite a bit of hit in cuts in funding in the IFAS programs,
particularly with 4H statewide. We have a very robust 4H program;
have over 7,000 young people participating in it each year. We don't
know what the operational impacts are.
At the moment, the core service that we provide in Collier is
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un-impacted. It will be covered sufficiently in the budget that we've
presented to you, but we do need -- there are going to potentially be --
some impacts statewide in terms of some of the camps and activities
that students in Collier County attend may be eliminated or curtailed,
but we just don't know yet. We're still working with Gainesville to
find out more about that.
Next we have our newly hired museum director. I say "newly."
Amanda Townsend came on board in January right at the beginning of
2017, and Amanda has gently pointed out to me that since her
appointment -- this was January 2017 through May of 2017, that our
rate of visitors, our visitation at the museums have gone up 30 percent
compared to the first five months of last year.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Congratulations.
MR. CARNELL: And I'm sure she's not claiming all credit for
that. But in all seriousness, we've done a -- we're pleased with that
outcome. And I'll mention that 60 percent of the people that visit our
museums are from out of town; that would be tourists, okay.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Would you say that again, please.
MR. CARNELL: Tourists, yes. And while we're kind of on that
vein, we're in the process right now of entering an agreement with the
Southwest Florida Heritage History Association to do some
redevelopment work of the baggage car at the Naples Depot train
station, and we're going to be working with the Naples Chamber of
Commerce to redevelop that site as a visitors center for tourists at the
Naples Depot. I just wanted to mention that, okay.
In addition to that, the museum is going to be hosting the Florida
Association of Museums annual state conference in Naples in
September, and there will be over 300 people attending that
conference. Most of them are visitors from outside the area; tourists.
Okay.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And they'll be staying in places like
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hotels.
MR. CARNELL: Yes. Places where tourists stay, that's right.
And I know that Mr. Wert is especially pleased, because we are
bringing in a tourist activity in one of the lowest months of the year for
tourism. All right. So enough about that with the museum.
In addition to that, Amanda's staff is approving -- is pursuing a
grant that the Board approved on Tuesday; $480,000 worth of funding
to do some historic renovation work at the Robert's Ranch. I wanted to
call that out because that's a credit to Amanda for looking for other
resources and other revenues and support areas to enhance the facilities
in our museum system. So we're pleased with where we're going,
generally, with the museums.
Something else I should mention; you'll be seeing a coming
attraction. You'll be seeing an agreement shortly in which we're going
to be entering into a loan agreement with the Smithsonian Institute to
bring the Marco Cat back to the Marco Island Historic Museum, and
that's going to take a bit of time for all that to happen.
Budgetarily speaking, in Fiscal Year '18, we're going to be
preparing the site to receive that exhibit, and that's going to be
including installing a new generator and meeting some other
requirements that the Smithsonian has pursuant to that loan agreement.
But you'll be seeing that loan agreement shortly. I think we're going to
get it to you before your break this summer. That's what we have with
the museum.
Domestic Animal Service. This is Darcy Andrade. Darcy's been
our director now for about three years. And DAS is in a position --
very interesting story. We continue to have a lot of success in our
DAS operation. I mentioned to you last summer when we talked about
the budget that six out of seven animals that come into the shelter go
home to families. And right now that number's running close to 90
percent, or it would be eight out of nine, if you will.
June 15, 2017
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We continue to build our what we call our live release rate. And
we're very pleased about that. And a lot of it has to do with the hard
work of Darcy and her staff but also the partners that we work with in
the community, with the rescue groups that we team up with to divert
animal traffic and to educate and to aggressively adopt out animals as
quickly as we can into good homes.
DAS is in the third year or will be -- in the coming budget year,
will be in the third year of a three-year plan to upgrade operations and
facilities, and this was a plan that was the result of a study that the
University of Florida conducted, the College of Veterinary Medicine
back in the spring of 2015.
And we brought a plan to the Board in the fall of 2015 and have
begun implementation. We've got -- most of the items in that plan
have been implemented, are going to be accounted for in this year's
budget.
The one area that is the biggest nut still to fully crack is the
facilities and buildings themselves at the shelter. If you're familiar
with the Naples Shelter, there are about six buildings on the campus.
And we've a challenge with keeping the buildings properly ventilated,
cooled, heated. We also have other challenges that we're working on.
This building was built in 2001, or these set of buildings. And in
2010, the American Society of Veterans Shelter Association issued
guidelines regarding facilities and animal-care standards. And so this
building -- those came out nine years after the building was built. The
building was obviously not built to those standards.
We -- the report that we've been working on has been to address
the operational, and a good deal of those capital goals that we need to
meet to provide the optimal care that the standards are set in these
national guidelines.
But where we're still struggling and working through is the actual
buildings themselves, and particularly the heating, ventilation, air
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conditioning, cooling. You may remember, those of you who were on
the Board in 2015, that we -- when we came to the budget hearing in
September of 2015, we had just come off of an incredibly hot summer,
and we had temperatures in the kennels approaching 100 degrees, and
some of our many active volunteers voiced their concerns and came to
the Board and voiced their concerns at the time about the condition of
the shelter.
Since then, Darcy and her team, working with facilities
management, have taken some temporary measures. We've repaired
the ventilation system -- because when you talk about heating,
ventilation, air conditioning, it's not just temperature. It's also
circulation of air to limit passage and distribution and infections. And
we've fixed the ventilation system, and right now we don't have a
permanent fix for temperature control. The new standards that were
adopted in 2010 call for maximum warmth of 80 degrees and a
minimum temperature of 60 degrees in the kennel areas. And as I said,
we run close to 100 degrees without any air conditioning in the
summer months.
Now, last summer we did -- we did implement a temporary
solution, and we're implementing it again this summer. We're renting
air conditioning units in the main dog adoption shelter, and that's
worked like a champ. We've absolutely been able to keep the
temperatures under that 80-degree maximum consistently through the
summer. It's expensive. It's not a good long-term solution, but it is
tiding us over for the time being.
So what we're looking at in the coming year, we do have in the
capital budget fund, countywide budget capital fund, a
half-a-million-dollar request, and that request is to follow through on
some recommendations we received from an architectural study earlier
this year to -- in two steps. One is to design an additional building that
we think we have room to install on the east end of the campus, based
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on the architect's review of the site, that would be built to the current
standards. And we would design that in the coming year.
The architect also recommended a plan for addressing the
deficiencies in the other buildings, and they gave us an analysis of
what it would cost to renovate the buildings versus cost of tearing them
down and rebuilding them. And in their analysis, the cost was roughly
the same. It was about $100,000 more -- a little over a million dollars
per building to tear them down and rebuild them and a little bit under a
million dollars to renovate them.
Based on that, it would appear that the prudent thing, best-value
return option here would be to tear the buildings down over time and
rebuild them.
In talking to our leadership in facilities management, though,
they're telling me that they think that we might be able to renovate the
buildings for less than what the consultant's study said. Quite a bit
less.
So what we want to do in the coming year -- what we want to do
in the coming year is drill into that a little further, move forward on
adding this one building, because this one building will help us in a
number of ways. It will give us a staging area to deal with each -- one
building at a time, because we're going to have to deal with the animal
population. Whether we renovate or rebuild or whatever we end up
doing, we've got to have a place to put the animals while we're doing
it.
So if we build this new building, that would essentially become
the transfer area for while we're doing future renovation work or
reconstruction work.
But what I'm telling you in a nutshell is we'll move forward on
designing that building and bring back a capital request for
construction when we've got that done, probably in the FY19 budget,
and then we'll look -- and we'll bring you a plan in terms of what we
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think we need to do for the rest of the site, and hopefully we'll be able
to contain the cost of the total upgrade to the site to meet all these
conditions.
Again, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, that's the primary
one, but there's also sound containment issues. We're told that our
ability to adopt the animals and to keep them healthier is improved if
you can manage the sound better; not everybody hearing everyone
else's dog barking next to them. And we've also got lighting
containment we want to look at as well. So we've got some other
things to deal with beyond just heating/ventilation. But that's an
important project that Darcy and facilities management are going to be
working on in the coming year.
Now, to my immediate left and new to our team is Sean Callahan.
Sean is the Director of our Operations and Veterans Services Division.
He comes to us from the United State Congress; seven years as a staff
member on Capitol Hill. He's not proud of it, but I'm telling
everybody.
But Sean brings just a whole new perspective, and he's been a
tremendous help to me and the whole team coming in. And Sean is --
provides operational support to the entire Public Services Department,
and he also supervises and supports our Veterans Services Group and
all our veterans service officer who assist Collier County veterans with
obtaining benefits and services that they're entitled to.
A couple things that Sean and his team are working on in the
coming year, I'll start with the vets. There -- for a very small amount
of money, we're looking at developing a program where we can get
access to medical professionals on behalf of our veterans, with the
consent of our veterans, to help them get more complete and accurate
diagnosis on issues they may be having medically, and that,
essentially, informs our veteran services officers and gives them the
information they need to advocate for additional benefits for these
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veterans.
And Sean's doing this for, like, $1.95. I don't know what exactly
it's costing, but very little. Little bit more than that, but not much
money, we're going to be able to add that service and improve that
level of service and support to our veterans in the community.
In addition, as I mentioned, Sean is -- his other portion of his
division is to support the department as a whole. And he's working on
helping us implement our enterprise asset management system that
we're working in collaboration with Public Utilities and Growth
Management on the same platform to create a database and a process
for tracking all of our assets in all of these divisions you see
represented here and to come up with a very systematic way to identify
our assets, to determine their age, their condition, and to get on really
organized replacement schedules for assets in the system over time.
So Sean's spearheading that.
We have a work team that I'm very excited about. We've got
frontline employees from each of our divisions who are working with
Sean's group to build that system collaboratively, and we're also
looking -- I mentioned we had some added position requests. We do
have a position targeted, additional programmer who will be the
technical support person as well as some other resources from the IT
division to help us roll that out, and next year we're going to be really
focused on developing the software and the data. So that's a big
challenge that Sean and his group are facing this year.
To Sean's left is Michelle Arnold. Michelle is the Director of our
Public Transit and Neighborhood Enhancement Division. And
Michelle is in the middle of trying to fill an existing position, our
transit manager position. We think we have a candidate on board.
This has been a challenging position to recruit. We're hoping to have
somebody on board here in the early part of July.
Michelle also oversees, in addition to the CAT, Collier Area
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Transit system, she also oversees para transit services and, of course,
our neighborhood enhancement function, which includes, what is it,
10, 11 MSTUs?
MS. ARNOLD: Ten.
MR. CARNELL: Ten active MSTU districts and advisory boards
throughout the county.
So then we also have Tanya Williams, who is our Library
Director. And many of you know, the library recently created --
completed a community assessment which was a very strategic,
focused outreach to our community basically asking, what do you like
and don't like about our library? What would you like to have more
of? What would you like to have less of? Those kinds of questions.
And we were very pleased. We got almost 2,000 responses and
participants to our questionnaire and survey, public meetings. And
from that Tanya is pulling the data together, and we're going to be
bringing the Board a strategic plan, multi-year strategic plan for the
library to implement steps and improvements and changes to the
library system, a lot of that driven by the input from the community
assessment.
The budget includes the addition of three positions which will
continue to help us move towards really trying to get the library back
to prerecession kind of staffing and support and activity.
What -- the wrinkle here is that we're going to use the community
assessment to inform that and to really help us place a premium on
which programs the community is telling us they want more of.
Specifically, we're going to be hiring library branch managers at
Immokalee, Golden Gate Estates, and East Naples branches. And we
believe that by doing so, we're going to improve the outreach to those
communities and the programs in terms of how we deliver them and
what kinds of programs people want, when they want them delivered,
try to meet them more to the needs of our patrons.
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So Tanya's going to be focused on that. You'll be hearing from
her in the fall with that strategic plan.
And then we have Stephanie Vick. Stephanie is our Health
Department Administrator. We are a liaison to the Health Department,
which is jointly funded by the State and the county.
And Stephanie presides over the second healthiest county in
Florida. And Stephanie is -- leads a group of people who really do an
awful lot of work behind the scenes, and I promise you, her team just
make problems go away before anybody knows about them. There's
just all kinds of things that come up. They've been working on the --
obviously, containing the Zika virus and keeping the public informed
about where we stand with that. And they've got a number of
challenging things coming forward this year.
And then last, but not least, is Barry Williams, our Parks and
Recreation Director. And as I mentioned earlier, we'll be opening the
Eagle Lakes pool next spring and, in addition to that, we're also adding
a maintenance position at Sugden Park to improve our level of service
there as well.
Barry does have in the budget a couple of fee increases for our
users that we're targeting. One is to increase the beach parking fee for
nonresidents. Presently it's $50, and we're proposing to raise it to $60,
which is what Lee County charges, and that's going to produce one of
two things or possibly both. It may result in a slight reduction in
traffic into Barefoot Beach Park, which if you've ever been there
anytime peak year, it's almost impossible to get into, because people --
Lee County residents are coming to Collier County parks because we
charge less than Lee County charges on their side of the line.
So we're thinking about equalizing that. That may slow the
traffic. If it doesn't, then the consolation prize is we get more revenue
in the system, and that will go toward beach park and maintenance.
And so I mentioned Eagle Lakes. I mentioned the fee increase.
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We also have some other smaller fee increases and adjustments for
wet-slip rentals.
And then we have -- Barry's got $23 million worth of capital
projects going on right now in one form or another. I mentioned the
pool. We also have Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, which is in
design right now. We recently had a public meeting with a lot of good
participation and, Commissioner McDaniel, props for being there, for
taking a few of the arrows and for supporting us.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I think there were only two
arrows, as a matter of fact.
MR. CARNELL: Well, thank you for your part in that, sir. We
thought the meeting was successful. We're moving forward with
design, and we're looking at little bit -- possible changes to that master
plan design that the Board saw back in 2016. Nothing major, but trying
to adapt and continue to take public input and come up with the best
outcome there, and you'll be hearing more about that in the fall. We'll
be bringing the Board an update briefing on the design status of that
park.
And then there's Conservation Collier. You have at the moment
in your budget a proposal to raise the millage by a quarter mill or
almost $20 million to restart your acquisition program. Operationally
speaking, in order for us to do that and support that, we are asking for
two additional staff persons to get the staffing complement back to
what it was back in the good old days of the referendum when we had
a referendum, when we had existing funding and we were acquiring
properties. That's in the budget as well.
And I would say, regardless of what amount you appropriate for
property acquisition, we'll need to staff up, because we'll need to start
an acquisition process, a public vetting, give landowners who want to
offer properties for sale a chance to bring those property forward and
have them vetted through your Land Acquisition Advisory Committee
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this fall.
With that, that's what I've got for the moment. Any questions
from any of you?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, any questions,
ma'am?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes, I do have.
I know that you guys -- oh, I appreciate so much for all the
children in this area that they'll finally have a pool. That's a wonderful
thing.
I was wondering if also you were going to try and complete the
improvements that you have targeted as well at the same time.
MR. CARNELL: I'm sorry. The improvements; which ones?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You know, where you have a place
where the children can play inside and some rooms and --
MR. CARNELL: Oh.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: -- those things.
MR. CARNELL: Yeah, okay.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Now what, how many people can
enter into the fitness center, four, six, or something like that? Are you
going to expand it to be equal -- I know it will never be equal to all the
other parks, but at least to be accommodating some of the people in the
area?
I think the -- I think the advisory board has recommended this;
Phil Brougham has told me repeatedly that he brings them up at the
meetings. I was just wondering if you had acted upon that.
MR. WILLIAMS: Commissioner Fiala, good morning. Barry
Williams, Parks and Recreation Director.
Just to respond to your question, yes, ma'am, we are, indeed,
looking at that this summer. One of the things that we're looking at
with our facility management capital project team is feasibility of that
site. And, in essence, what we're looking to do is to look at what
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capability that we have. That is a very tight site, a small park
surrounded by preserve. There is a space where we originally had
intended the pool to go that was left blank, and we think that there's
some possibilities there.
That feasibility study will be completed this summer. It will tell
us exactly what we can do. The big question is, you know, in terms of
expansion and traffic and cars in and out whether we can
accommodate it, but we are looking at it this summer.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you very much, Barry.
MR. WILLIAMS: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Is that it, Mrs. Fiala, Commissioner?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay, thank you.
Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. On DAS, we had a brief
discussion. I was looking here; I didn't see any improvement money
appropriated for Immokalee in that facility. What's in our plan there?
MR. CARNELL: Well, we do have a plan there. It's not shown in
the budget yet. Let me tell you about that.
The Immokalee shelter is 40 years old. If you've ever been to the
Naples shelter, it's a microcosm of it; old concrete block structure.
And we feel like we need -- we actually have in the AUIR a plan
to build a new facility, but our staff at DAS has come up with an
alternative option. We don't have it funded yet, but we think we may
have funding this fall.
And what I'm talking about is we're looking at the idea of
purchasing, essentially, a mobile clinic that we could circulate
throughout the county but particularly and specifically primarily in the
Immokalee area where we would have a clinic area, we'd have a
treatment area, we'd have staff able to provide medical services to the
public through that means.
June 15, 2017
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What we're looking at right now is the estimated cost of that
would be about a quarter million dollars, and we are looking for
funding partners. And there's a distinct possibility that we have a local
partner who may step forward this fall and pledge a significant amount
of money towards that.
Our intent would be to keep the Board updated on that and, when
we get that commitment, to bring this thing back to the Board and talk
about a funding plan, and I'm thinking in the fall, Commissioner
McDaniel, that we'll have some information for you on that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. And I also want to
address -- and just, there again, on a prioritization basis, how we're
doing, what we're doing. I mean, you know -- and I, by no means, am
taking away from the necessity of the comfort of the animals that we're
caring for while we have them. But you have an appropriation for half
a million dollars for an air conditioning system for the existing
facilities' air circulation and temperature maintenance and the like.
Who determined that the maximum temperature of 80 degrees was
necessary?
MR. CARNELL: That's the national standard. It comes from the
Association of Shelter Veterinarians.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay, okay. So I do want to
talk about the operational hours at Immokalee. We've got logistical
issues out there with that shelter. A lot of folks -- you know, we have a
lot of -- there are a lot of stray animals, dogs and cats, in the
Immokalee area.
And I've had several people share with me that because of getting
there, getting to that shelter -- it's in behind one of our maintenance
facilities, and as a matter of security, maintenance put a gate. And now
when people come to drop off, they can't get in.
So that needs to be addressed sooner than later. And you and I
and Darcy, we rode earlier on in my tenure -- we talked about lease
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facility, a temporary facility, a temporary lease somewhere along those
lines somewhere just to give the public better access that truly do want
to help us. I mean, there are people that pick up strays quite regularly,
and if they can't get to the facility, they're going to not -- they're going
to want to stop helping.
MR. CARNELL: Agreed, agreed. And that's where we're
thinking the clinic would be our first line of approach here because --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah, but you're talking
$250,000 for a mobile clinic that's going to be moving around, and
that's another moving target. And what we -- I think, you know,
Immokalee's a fairly localized community. The people are -- they're
there. If we had some legitimacy with access for people to be able to
get there to a facility somewhere to drop off -- and you're talking about
a $250,000 expense on a mobile unit that's going to be somewhere.
I'm talking about utilizing what we have and allowing for some kind of
better access.
MR. CARNELL: I understand. And I will tell you that our intent
-- while the mobile unit could be placed anywhere in Collier County,
the thought would be that it would temporarily reside in Immokalee.
We'd find a place --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
MR. CARNELL: -- that we could situate.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. And we've got plenty of
property over there.
I do have one more question, if I may. This has to do with
Conservation Collier. If you would explain to me the current
procedures with the acquisition side. We have never -- other than a
lack of funding available, we have never been out of the acquisitions
business with -- do I look at you?
MR. WILLIAMS: Possibly.
MR. CARNELL: Yeah. Go ahead.
June 15, 2017
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MR. WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. And your question is how we
acquire properties?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: How is it done now?
MR. WILLIAMS: Okay. Well, currently, you know, we are in
the restart phase, so part of that process is bringing -- and I mentioned
yesterday, or Tuesday, I believe, was the creation of CCLAC. We
expanded the committee per the ordinance when, acquisition phase, it
required a membership of nine, so that has been done and that's been
created.
Those properties are vetted. When people apply and ask for the
properties to be considered, there's a vetting process that we work with
Real Estate Services to value the properties, determine their value,
bring those properties forward to the CCLAC, the acquisition
committee for their consideration, and it's vetted through that.
There's a ranking process. When we stopped acquiring properties
in 2011, we left a list of properties that we did not pursue; A, B, and C,
they were ranked. And so you're going through that process now for a
ranking that will occur in December.
You do get some properties that will come to you through
donations mainly through the Land Development Code as it currently
exists. If folks want to do off-site mitigation, there's an option for
them to acquire properties on behalf of Conservation Collier and bring
those forward. We've had some starts and stops with that. The LDC is
being revised.
The biggest question that we're looking at is just whether or not
those properties that come to you, donation, as part of Conservation
Collier, whether the maintenance fees associated with those or the
maintenance costs are, indeed, going to help us maintain those
properties in perpetuity.
So that process is being looked at now, and hopefully that will be
before you in the next few months. So that's kind of where we are
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now.
I'm not sure if I answered your questions, or do you still have
some or...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, where I was going was,
and where are the deficiencies in the acquisition side that require two
more people?
MR. WILLIAMS: That's a great question. When you -- the
10-year period of Conservation Collier when you were acquiring
properties, that was mainly their focus in bringing properties on board.
And you'll see as these properties come before you for consideration,
that is a very demanding process in terms of due diligence and the
involvement of a lot of different departments, or divisions rather,
within the County Manager's organization.
But in that 10 years when you were acquiring property, you had
three staff members that were not only acquiring the properties but
starting the land management plans associated with them. As you
went through the 10-year cycle, we began to shift from acquisition to
land management.
Now you've got 19 properties, 4,000-plus acres, that you have to
manage. So you really have a justification for three staff members to
manage those properties, and they do a variety of things in terms of
land management. Each one of those properties have a land
management plan. Some of those plans include amenities that were
proposed to be included for public access. We have a deferred list of
about $1.3 million. So the process of acquiring those amenities and
putting them in place; so that's what your three land managers, in
essence, are doing.
What you now need is a person to head up -- and what we
propose is the coordinator of the program to head up the acquisition,
the restart of the acquisition. And with that we're asking for a
technically skilled staff member, I won't say assistant, but to work with
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the coordinator in that acquisition process and the coordination that's
required.
So you're looking at a total in the current scheme of things of five
FTE. When we look at similar type programs in the state of Florida
and we compare our FTE count to the acres that are being managed,
you're well, well below that, and we can provide you some of that data.
That's been looked at as well. That kind of benchmarks you of what
these five employees are doing with these acres in comparison to some
of the other entities in the state of Florida that are doing a like program.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: For now.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
Commissioner Saunders, any questions?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I don't have any questions.
Nice presentation. Thank you for that.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Just one. In looking at the -- I'm
looking at Page 15 of your -- of the DAS budget information, and
there's a -- there's a column for Fiscal Year 2018 revenues, $462,100.
I'm just curious, what is all that revenue based on? I'm not
familiar with -- this is on the -- it's Domestic Animal Services --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's bail money. When your
dog gets caught, you have to bail them out.
MS. ANDRADE: That's animal licenses that's required by
Collier County ordinance, adoption fees, reclaim fees, spay/neuter
fees. So it's a lot of fees that we collect at Domestic Animal Services.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: They're fees. Okay. So there's no
grant money in that or anything like that.
MR. CARNELL: Not in this particular fiscal year, no.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Okay. That's all I have.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I have a few questions.
I think we'll start with our Health Department. And so there's an
urban rumor/legend around that the State of Florida is deliberately
putting mosquitoes in Collier County in order to study the Zika virus.
And I think this is a great opportunity -- I have heard it from more than
one corner -- to address that, please.
MS. VICK: Well, Stephanie Vick, Administrator of the Health
Department.
I believe that Mosquito Control certainly would back me up on
this, that there are no mosquitoes being put in Collier County for any
purpose, including studying the Zika virus.
We -- and there have been a few articles that have been in the
paper recently. We've been assaulted by a lot of mosquitoes because
of the dry -- dry weather prior to the rains. And so now that the rains
have happened, we have a large population of mosquitoes getting us,
and most of them are saltwater-type mosquitoes. None of them are the
type of mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
I'm -- I first came to BCC Collier County in 1965, and this year
reminds me of it.
Sugden Park. I've been asked -- there is a wonderful program that
teaches handicapped children to sail, and they would love a couple of
more boats there. So I don't know if that's in the budget, but I'd like
you to consider it. It's a wonderful program.
MR. CARNELL: We'll take a look.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
Animal Control. I adopted my latest dog from Animal Control.
He's a great dog; thank you. What a difference under your leadership
from a few years ago, and well done.
And I just wanted to tell a quick story of these fees. They -- we
got a call from a lady who had lost her dog for six years -- six months,
June 15, 2017
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and you had recovered it, and there was some serious medical
problems. And she was so excited. I guess it was chipped -- and so
excited to find it, and that you found it and wanted to pick it up and
found out the bill was probably more than she -- you know, her salary
could afford.
You not only worked with her, she called twice, one on Friday to
say thank you and one on Saturday to say I'm picking him up now.
Thank you very much.
You know, that's your outreach, and you are doing such a great
job. So I would support the improvements to your facility. But, you
know, we have a budget, but, you know, it's well deserved.
The Conservation Collier, I am -- I did speak with a gentleman
who spent a lot of his day here on Tuesday. I do think we need to
review the ordinance, but that would be -- that's not budget, but I'm just
letting you know, and I'm concerned a little bit about what we've done
in the past and what we can do.
And then, finally, and I think this is the time to bring it up.
Although it will affect the budget, but I do -- I'd like to reinstate the
AUIR for beach access in Collier County. It was dropped in 2004,
maybe 2006.
So I'd like to see if we could start looking at what we're doing for
beach access for our growing county.
And that's it. Thank you. And just a final, you're my favorite the
department because you are the face of my office to the public, and
you do such a great job. And thank you so much. You are on the front
lines of everything. And I'm just so impressed with the way the county
conducts business. And you are certainly a huge part of it.
Thank you very much.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I think -- were we going to hear from
a couple of speakers?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Yeah. Madam Chair, you have one
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speaker on this item. It's Mr. Scott Burgess from the David Lawrence
Center.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Before we go there, can I get a
little further explanation from you on the AUIR process for the beach
access, if you don't mind expanding.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Sure. At the correspondence and
communication, or at the end of the meeting, if we could.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Why not now?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We are a county unlike a lot of counties
that takes our inventory of the facilities that we offer the public and
take stock of what we do. It's kind of a sheet.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I understand, yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And so we haven't been looking at
beach access since 2006. Somehow that got dropped off the list of
maybe we don't need to address it anymore. I think we do, and so
that's why I'd like to start seeing where we are, if we're deficient or
whatever. And that's countywide. It's not just Collier County
excluding the incorporated areas. It's the entire county as a whole. So
I think it's a very important exercise to put back in the AUIR.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, if I could have Barry elaborate and
maybe clarify just a little.
MR. WILLIAMS: No, I appreciate it. And I appreciate the
comment. I think it's very valid.
I do want to point out, though, with your AUIR process, you do
look at level of service for regional and community parks. And part of
your regional park calculation does take into (sic) beach access.
And as you know, with our community there is no more available
land. And so part of that process is looking at what can we do. And
there's been some creative things over the years.
Michelle worked very closely this past season in developing the
shuttle program, and that's got promise. The ridership wasn't what we
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wanted, but we also see -- you know, continue to promote it.
But the other thing I wanted to offer, if I may, is that part of the
AUIR process, the DSAC actually requested that before the impact fee
analysis for parks came back that a master plan be completed that
looked at your park system, looked for those improvements. And one
of the big focuses that the Parks and Rec Advisory Board has asked us
to look at is the beach access issue and what we can do about that.
So all of that will ultimately be coming forward to you. The
AUIR is something that has always maintained that look, but only in
terms of the amount of regional park acres that you need per thousand
citizens. It does talk about the issues in terms of beach parking in
particular, but I do think that master plan is really going to tease some
of that out and continue to come up with creative ideas for us to
address that issue.
You're not going to get any more beach parkland; there's no more
left. But these creative ways to get people to the beaches is primarily
going to be the focus.
So I hope that helps. I'm not sure if that's quite what you're
referencing, but...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes, it does, but I do think we need to
take stock of where we are; I really do. I think that's very important
what -- based on our population and the growth of our population, how
deficient are we. I think that a very important -- however we address it
after we find that out, I think that's a very important computation.
MR. WILLIAMS: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: As far as I look, we're not planning any
beaches in the RFMUD or in the RSLA (sic).
MR. WILLIAMS: No.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Your speaker, ma'am?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
June 15, 2017
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MR. CASALANGUIDA: Mr. Burgess.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
MR. BURGESS: I do have some slides. I don't know if
somebody could -- oh, I believe I can do it.
Good morning, almost good afternoon. Scott Burgess, the CEO
of David Lawrence Center. Thank you so much for allowing me to be
here.
I know the slides are maybe a little bit hard to see, so I did print
those out for the Commissioners to have in front of them; that might
make that a little bit easier.
First I wanted to say thank you. We've already made note -- I
know a couple of the divisions have made note of the workshop that
was recently conducted on mental health and addictions here in Collier
County specifically. I thank you so much for your leadership in doing
that and bringing this -- these important issues to the attention of the
community, not only just raising the awareness but really everybody
working in partnership in trying to come up with the best solutions for
our community. So I thank you so very much.
I've got limited time, so I'm going to spend most of my time
talking -- because this is budget, talking about finances. But I thought
it was important to cast out very quickly the macro environmental
challenges that we have.
We know one in four individuals are going to have a
mental-health condition in their lifetime; one in nine are going to have
a challenge related to substance issues. So in a growing community,
obviously, these are going to be issues that continue to grow.
In addition to that, we are 49th out of 50 in the country, and I
have a slide that I'm going to show you very quickly on that. There's
only one state that spends less money per capita on mental health and
addictions -- and that's Idaho -- currently in our country. So we do
have some funding challenges in this regard as it relates to state
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funding in specific.
We also have the second highest rate of uninsured in the country,
which is a significant challenge because, just proportionately so, those
uninsured have mental-health and addictions issues, and we do have
one of the lowest actuarial rates would indicate that the Medicaid rates
in Florida do not cover the cost to provide services.
So this is a slide that demonstrates they we are 49th out of 50 in
the country in funding for mental health. The red bar almost all the
way to the far right is Florida. It demonstrates that we spend 30 --
about $34 per individual per year in Florida. If you go all the way to
the far left, the state that spends the most is Maine, and they spend
$338 per person. So we're spending one-tenth of what the best state is
spending.
(Commissioner Fiala is no longer on speakerphone.)
MR. BURGESS: If you actually double the amount of money
that we're providing, if we doubled the amount of money that we were
providing in Florida -- we actually would have about 40 states that
would still be spending more money than us if we doubled the amount
that we were spending in Florida.
What does that mean here specifically in Collier County? This is
the line that shows the mental health spending that the state has given
David Lawrence Center across the last 10 years. The red line is the
actual funding amount. So you can see, relatively speaking, that's
remained pretty flat. We had a little bit of a downturn during the
economic downturn, some cuts in funding. That's risen just barely. So
we're about breakeven from where we were 10 years ago.
The blue line is the amount that it would cost as far as increase in
population growth and the services associated to what we need to do to
meet those needs and a 2 percent increase in inflation across here,
which we think is certainly very generous given the housing costs here
in Florida, or down here in Collier. That gap, for those that can't see it
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in the audience, is a $2 million gap in what we were provided 10 years
ago from the state to what we're being provided right now.
That -- actually, I looked at the funding, and we were, ironically,
49th out of 50 in funding back in 2007 as well from a state standpoint
and national standpoint.
This graph is looking at financing in local counties. So Collier
County is currently spending $4.40 per resident for these services;
again, through support of David Lawrence Center. So that's $4.40 per
resident. Comparably, Lee County is spending $6.79 per resident.
Charlotte is $7.33 per resident. And a combination of Sarasota and
Manatee, because they have overlapping boundaries and service
systems, they're at $5.36.
So if we looked at what that would mean financially for Collier
County, the green line represents the amount that we're receiving
currently. If we use the rates of the comparable counties, that would
be the bars that you're seeing.
So Lee County, it's got an associated dollar amount; Charlotte
County, little bit higher; and Sarasota and Manatee also higher, but not
as high as the others. The variance is, annually, $370,000 -- $370,000
annually all the way to a range of $1.1 million difference for Charlotte
County compared to Collier County. The average of that is $786,000.
So what's been happening at the same time as the funding hasn't
kept up, you can see this is the graph that we showed of what are the
referrals looking like from the Sheriff's Office to David Lawrence
Center for Baker Acts. That's increased 254 percent and, as you can
see in the last just five years or so, it's continued to dramatically
increase because of the CIT training.
We have officers that are much better able to detect mental-health
issues and substance issues, and we're looking towards intervention
and channeling individuals into treatment rather than incarceration
whenever possible, and that's what has resulted.
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I mentioned these graphs at the workshop, so I won't go into them
in depth. But the blue line is the average daily census of our crisis unit
about five years ago at David Lawrence Center, the yellow line is
current, and the red line is the maximum capacity day for any given
month.
And I'll just mention as an example, in May, about five years ago
we had 11.65 individuals at David Lawrence. This last May it was
26.53, so more than double, and the highest day we actually had 32
individuals.
This is a comparable chart that shows our children's crisis
stabilization unit. And, again, I won't go into the detail and the depth,
but you can see that the children's services on the most acute service
that we provide, crisis stabilization. This literally means, by definition,
these children are a danger to themself or a danger to others, suicidal or
homicidal in that moment. You can see that the blue line was quite
low five, six years ago. It's dramatically increased, the yellow line
currently. And we actually have days -- in May we had a day where
we had 12 children that came to us, and we were servicing on an
expanded eight-bed unit. We went from four beds to eight beds and
now 12.
So I know I have limited time. I apologize. I won't spend more
time. But we have respectfully requested additional funding. We have
provided that in a letter format to -- for your review, and we have
asked for the increase to the average level, which was the 786,000,
which would get us in the middle of funding of the comparable
counties in the area.
What that would equate to is, essentially, taking the current
amount of money, $4.40 per resident, and adding about $2 to that;
$6.40 per resident, which is still below the other two counties that I
referenced.
I would like to make note that it's really critical for us to be able
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to keep up with current capacity, not only what we're talking about in
additional needs that are happening in the county just based on
population growth alone, but as we're talking about CIT training. A
development we're talking about is bringing that to EMS.
We saw the chart of what happened when we brought CIT
training to the Sheriff's Office. By expanding it to EMS -- we have to
look at this as a whole system of care and how it's going to impact the
entire system.
So we're definitely going to be identifying more people, deferring
more people into treatment, which is the appropriate thing to do, but
we need to make sure we're attending to those treatment needs as well.
We talked about in the workshop -- a couple of times it came up
-- bottlenecking, and we admit that we're one of the bottlenecks. We
cannot -- we're not able financially to be able to expand the way that
we need to to keep up with the demand in the community.
So we're, again, respectfully requesting that you consider that
request.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Any questions?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Well -- and this is -- I think Mr.
Carnell was saying that this is maybe some of the vetting process we're
going to go through; that we're still going to be reviewing this.
And, you know, the other question I have -- because it does relate
to the budget -- is, it seems to me that if we're really going to address
this issue, we need to have some kind of an advisory panel of some
kind that can help us prioritize these issues, prioritize, you know, how
we're going to support this issue in the future. And I'd just like to make
a request that we somehow figure out what -- where that would fit in
the budget.
You know, coming up with a strategic plan, getting some
feedback from the stakeholders and the community, I think, is going to
be essential so that it's not just kind of picking and choosing who --
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what entity can be supported; that there will be a comprehensive view
of that, and we can address it that way.
So if we can try to work something -- you know, the cost of --
because I know there are some staff costs and things for the advisory
panel. I mean, how many advisory panels are there in the Public
Services Division? A lot?
MR. CARNELL: A lot. We've got most of them. They're double
digits all total. But it could be -- sir, you could be looking at an ad hoc
panel, something that has a sunset life to it.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Sure.
MR. CARNELL: It has the purpose of creating a plan and a
community-wide strategy, and then giving you input.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Perfect.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think that's very important. You
know, that's, I think, what -- we heard from a lot of different entities,
and they were all in the room, again and again, and I want to
compliment you on that, and people who, oh, I didn't know they exist.
But I think there is, in my mind at least, as a user of that system
for eight years, some overlap. And I think -- I think it's incumbent to
have some kind of direction so that, you know, we can pool monies
that are already out there, understanding some of the agencies might be
a little territorial, but I do think there's overlap.
If we're going to create a system that will be effective to deal
specifically with the mental-health challenges our county is facing and
will continue to face, that, to me, is the baseline of where we start.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: And I think that's part of what came
out of the workshop was there's a lot of moving parts, there's a lot of
people working -- a lot of entities working together, but it's just grown
that way organically --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: -- and I think to have a
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comprehensive view and have some evaluation of the system as a
whole on a regular basis, I think would be very, very healthy.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner -- yes, Ms. Vick?
MS. VICK: Could I just add something. I feel remiss for not
saying this during the workshop. But if you're wondering what your
constituents might be saying about all of this, the Health Department
and NCH system does a community assessment every three years. We
just finished one in 2016. And out of that, mental health three years
before that fell kind of in the middle of importance to everybody. This
time it fell in the top two.
And we actually increased the number of focus groups that we did
throughout the county. We doubled the number of people that we
were meeting with, and it was in every area of the county. So we had
Marco and Immokalee and the Estates and Golden Gate Estates and
Greater Naples area and East Naples. Every single one of them rated
mental-health, behavior-health issues in the top area.
And what we heard from them -- so it was not surprising for me
to hear the Sheriff's Department say that they're the largest
mental-health provider in the community. What we heard from the
people participating in the groups was that that's where they refer
themselves. They self-refer. They call the police on people in their
family because they know that's where they're going to get help.
So I think if you're wondering about support from your
community, it's there.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Great. Thank you. I wasn't aware of
that. That's good to hear.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you. That's important.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Anybody else?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Commissioner Fiala, any
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questions of our speaker or any comments? We lost her.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Did we lose her?
MR. OCHS: Yeah. I think she might have dropped off.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Mr. Burgess?
MR. BURGESS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You've done a really, really
good job of showing us where we're nationally deficient, where we're
deficient in comparison to contiguous communities.
One of the things that I need to know -- and, again, the David
Lawrence Center does an amazing job, absolutely amazing. And
there's no argument that our community is in dire need of assistance in
this regard with mental illness and drug addictions. And that was quite
evident, Commissioner Solis, in our workshop that we had last week.
But I'm leaning more towards results orientation. And this may
dovetail into what my colleagues have talked about is some type of an
ad hoc advisory committee. You've shown very good data that there's
been an increase of clientele, and that's a combination of the
opioid-addicted pandemic/epidemic that we have going on, along with
better officer training and first responders' training along those lines.
But I want to know some breakouts as to how many of those
clients are repeat clients and what's your -- what's your turn of --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Recidivism.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you. I cannot say that
word. Say it again.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Recidivism.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Recidivism. I can't say it -- of
your folks that have to come back; that's what I'm looking for. And we
talked about it yesterday at the symposium. That was an amazing
symposium that we attended yesterday. And I would like -- I would
like to know that as we move forward.
June 15, 2017
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And Commissioner Solis has brought up the subject about this is
-- there's no argument that there's an additional need for funding in this
area to support our community from a socio standpoint. How do we
manage that funding? Where, in fact, does it go? And best manipulate
the limited amount of assets that our County Manager has told us on a
regular basis that we have.
So I would be inclined to be in support of that -- receiving that
additional information. We still have time. We still have time in this
budget cycle to have discussions about those fundings option. And a
comparison, as Commissioner Taylor spoke, I'm a big advocate of not
having overlap in services. And I know there are several agencies that
do provide assistance in this regard. So I'd like a little clearer
delineation on that as well.
MR. BURGESS: Happy to provide that information. And I
completely agree with the idea of having a countywide strategic plan
with specific goals and objectives and outcome measures that we can
look at.
One of the things I think we found in the workshop process was
that we do have a number of entities that are working in this area,
including our hospitals, that have a number of individuals that are
continuing to go through their emergency room, sometimes onto their
medical floor, and they're returning and are very recidivistic. We don't
have access to any of that data.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I can't even say recidivism and
you said recidivistic?
MR. BURGESS: Well, now I can't say it. Now I'm on the spot.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It's contagious.
MR. BURGESS: But -- so that was actually one of the things that
we talked about. I know Judge Martin talked about that as well, and
she has some of our internal data related to all the folks that are going
through the specialty treatment programs which we know are working
June 15, 2017
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wonderfully well at saving a lot of money, but she doesn't have a more
global database, and she'd like to have -- capture all of the information
that could feed into a central repository, if you will.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Right. I mean, this is -- one of the
central issues is, a lot of different entities are working in this area.
They have their own data, but nobody's putting that data together to
see, is this -- how is this system really working? Where is it not
working? I mean, either way. So, yeah, I think that's where we need
to head, so...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's a stakeholder issue. Like
you were talking about, this is a -- there's more than one dynamic that
ends up with these population numbers all the way across the board.
There's a mentality -- people are going to naturally orient to the place
where they are going to receive the quickest assistance, so...
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's it?
Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No. I don't have anything else.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Let's talk about the -- oh,
thank you very much.
Commissioner Fiala?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: She's off the call, ma'am.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: She's welcome to send me a
text. I'll ask her questions.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Let's talk about the 4H. How serious is
it?
MR. CARNELL: Twila, why don't you elaborate. I will say
before Twila jumps in, that the impact appears to be more on the
statewide programs that our kids attend, and you may want to elaborate
further.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: The camps, et cetera?
MS. LEE: Exactly. So locally -- we are funded locally for our
existing level of service to over 7,200 students or children between the
ages of 5 and 18 every year.
The state cut, it's very deep for UF because it's a million dollars
on the state level, the camps, the legislative, the leadership, the public
speaking that our older children specifically are more impacted
because those are the types of programs that the older children use.
So it's rather a crisis. We don't know the exact shakedown at this
point, but we know the UF is scrambling to see what other sources of
income or funding they may be able to get.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Will you keep us in the loop
here?
When I think about, you know, statewide, yeah, you want to
compete statewide, but there's probably some things we can do in
terms of competition in terms of public speaking even in our chambers
where we could have some competitions that might fill the gap in the
meantime.
You know, this is the second year of the mock commission
meetings, and there's such a response. And, you know, these kids just
-- if you put a microphone in front of them, it's probably -- it's an
exciting time. So I'm not suggesting it would replace what's offered,
but certainly with kids that are aging out of 4H, they need an -- if they
need an opportunity, please let my office know anyway, and I can
work with the County Manager.
MS. LEE: Thank you so much.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
All right. It's noon. And if there's no other questions, I think
we'll recess for an hour and a minute. And thank you very much. And
well done.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: 12:01.
June 15, 2017
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(A luncheon recess was had.)
MR. OCHS: There you go. You have a live mic, Madam Chair.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much.
Commissioner Fiala, are you with us?
MR. CASALANGUIDA: The bridge is on, ma'am. So if she
chimes in or checks in, you'll hear it come on.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's perfect.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You know, when Troy's in that
seat, it always works.
MR. OCHS: That's true. I noticed that.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Scapegoat.
MR. OCHS: Peter Principle.
Commissioners, that takes us to the portion of your budget
workshop devoted to review of constitutional officer budgets.
Following the agenda, the first up would be your Supervisor of
Elections, Ms. Edwards.
Supervisor of Elections
MS. EDWARDS: Hello.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Hi. How are you? Good afternoon.
MS. EDWARDS: I'd like to introduce two ladies that are with
me. Melissa Blazier is the Chief Deputy of the Elections Office.
MS. BLAZIER: Hi.
MS. EDWARDS: And Alex Breault is my Executive Assistant.
MS. BREAULT: Hi.
MS. EDWARDS: I've met with some of you and shared the high
level of our budget, and that includes that in our operations budget we
have a 2.1 percent increase going forward, and that's approximately
$78,000, and most of that is for the utilities for our new space.
The most important thing to look at is the Capital 1 -- or Capital
June 15, 2017
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301 funds. And we let you and we especially let the budget office
know, consistently, what we're going to need moving forward as it
relates to capital funds in order to meet the requirements for our
equipment.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you for that.
MS. EDWARDS: Of course, that's important. We maintain a
five-year plan for equipment replacement. And for this next budget
there's a mandate hanging over us that by 2020 we must replace the
ADA equipment. We're using the same ADA equipment that we
purchased in 2002.
And the difference is that the 2002 equipment was touch screen,
but we're mandated to have a paper trail or have a paper ballot for that
now. And we're supposed to implement it by 2020, but I don't want to
implement new equipment in a presidential election year. We want to
implement it next year so all of our election workers, as well as the
voters, have that experience prior to a presidential election year.
So because we've been letting the budget office know, we
currently have $480,000 in our 301 fund, and we're asking for an
additional 345,000 in capital 301 funds to meet the equipment
requirement.
Any questions?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No. Thank you. You don't want to
repeat the election of -- what year was this infamous election? Was it
2002, or 2000?
MS. EDWARDS: It was 2000. It was my first election.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: You don't want to repeat that 2000.
MS. EDWARDS: Correct. Then looking forward -- and we've
shared this with the budget office. Over the next three budget years,
we're also going to need additional capital to move forward and keep
up with replacement of equipment in the elections office.
Any questions?
June 15, 2017
Page 92
(No response.)
MS. EDWARDS: I want to say again thank you, thank you to the
County Manager's Office as well as to you all for the facility we're in
now. We conducted the largest general election we've ever conducted
in the 2012 (sic) general, and we led the state in turnout. We had an 87
percent turnout. We voted over 175,000 people in that election, the
highest in the state.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Wow.
MS. EDWARDS: And it was the smoothest because we were all
together on one facility. So thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Thank you for what you
do.
MS. EDWARDS: Well, we have great staff. I give them all the
credit.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders, any
questions?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioners Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: No.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just -- I want to commend you.
The prudence of ramping up now with your ADA issues in advance of
the next presidential election. It's a very prudent maneuver.
MS. EDWARDS: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's why you have such a --
in addition to why you have such an efficient operation.
MS. EDWARDS: Appreciate that.
We also want to thank all of our many, many election workers.
We train over a thousand for every election cycle, and we want to get
them trained well on this new equipment also.
Thanks, y'all.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
June 15, 2017
Page 93
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Thank you.
Clerk of Courts
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, that brings us to the Clerk of the
Circuit Courts.
MS. KINZEL: Good afternoon, Commissioners. For the record,
Crystal Kinzel, Chief Deputy Clerk, and I have with me Raymond
Milum, who is the Clerk's accountant.
To begin with, I want to echo what you heard this morning about
commending the budget office. We always have a great working
relationship to produce this and get through the process, and that's true
again this year. So we really appreciate working with them.
We've also had the opportunity over -- before we submitted this
budget book -- to meet with each one of you individually, and there are
no changes since we met with you with that level of detail.
We provided the budget book on May 1, and hopefully that
answered some of your questions, if not all. We are -- our primary
increase -- we have complied with all of the guidance on the budget for
our regular operations. The only variation is the 6.5 additional FTEs
that we're requesting, and that would be for our payroll operations, two
for finance, and an SAP analyst.
As you may be aware, the SAP system that runs the entire
financials for the county are with the Clerk of Courts, and we have
some growth and some change-out of equipment, and we will be
growing, as you've heard in each of these budgets, and so we are
looking for an additional analyst to work with the county departments
in any conversions or any upgrades that might be forthcoming.
We also have requested two positions to re-open the Eagle Creek
satellite. Back before the recession, we had nine remote locations. We
currently have four. And we have been getting numerous public
June 15, 2017
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inquiry mentioning that they could use some service either on Marco
or down in the southern quadrant of East Naples where they're growing
rapidly.
We collocate with the Tax Collector, so there's no facility or
additional hard structure necessary. They've agreed that we could
move back into that, and that would give us five locations in the
county.
And with that, we're here to answer any questions if you have
additional.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala? Not here.
Commissioner Solis.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: No.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have no questions.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: You have no questions?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
MS. KINZEL: Thank you very much. We appreciate it.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, the next constitutional agency is
the Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff’s Office
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: Good morning, Madam Chair and
Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good morning -- afternoon.
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: It is afternoon already.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No. You said morning.
June 15, 2017
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SHERIFF RAMBOSK: I know. Feels like morning.
Thank you for the opportunity to give us some time to meet with
you on the budget.
I wanted to take a few minutes to review with you some of the
accomplishments and highlights of your Sheriff's Office.
First and foremost, though, I'd like to take this opportunity to
officially recognize the members of our leadership team that are here
today. Chief Bloom with operations; Chief Hedberg, our chief counsel;
Chief Roberts in corrections; Chief Smith in administration; Chief
Spell is not with us today. She's community outreach; and Chief
Williams in investigations.
Along with that, we have our Finance Director, Andrea Marsh,
who keeps us all pretty straight, and we appreciate that as well.
But for the leadership team, I want to take this time to recognize
each and every one of them for everything that they do throughout the
year 24/7 because it allows me a couple of nights to go home and sleep
while they stay awake. So they all do a terrific job.
Our command staff does as well and, obviously, all the men and
women of the Collier County Sheriff's Office who are out there day
and night that protect us all and create the community that we are in.
But, you know, we couldn't do it alone. So we have many
community partnerships that we want to recognize. We have
businesses that we work with on a regular basis. We have, obviously,
you, the Board, and staff, and we thank you for your support of the
health, safety, and welfare of residents of Collier County; the Collier
County school system, which we have a large partnership with; fire
rescue; and EMS. And really, without all of those partners, we would
not have the safe and secure community that we have.
A special note to Manager Ochs and his staff, because everybody
in this room we get an opportunity to work directly with. And I will
tell you, it is a great working relationship. So -- and anything we need,
June 15, 2017
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they provide, and anything we can do, we provide. So I think it
continues to be the best it's ever been.
So we've had a very busy year; you all know that. We're looking
at probably another one. But we can stand before you again because of
all and everyone's efforts and tell you that our crime rate -- and these
are numbers fresh off the report this morning, and they're going to
become statewide public or they are by this point -- that we are down
3.2 percent in crime over the previous year.
What's more significant is that we look to see how we compare,
and it's not the only comparison of what we do and how we do it, but
we like to look at other communities, and we are now -- there are only
10 other counties in the state out of 67 that have a lesser crime rate
than we do, and that is three counties better than where we were.
So not only is our crime being addressed, but where we are in the
state and the nation continues to be addressed.
It also becomes one of our biggest challenges, which I'm going to
talk with you about in a couple of minutes, because you don't get there
without a lot of hard work, but you don't stay there as well.
Traffic-crash fatalities are down 29 percent this past year. Traffic
crashes, unfortunately, up about 6 percent. That is significantly down
over 2014 when there was about a 20 percent or plus increase in
crashes. We're starting to get a better handle on that. We'll talk a little
bit about how we've addressed that this year with our traffic
component.
First six months of this year we're on track to reduce that
increasing number even more, and we're trying to get down this year's
increase -- we don't want it to increase at all, but -- to be minor, maybe
1 or 2 percent rather than the large numbers we've been seeing. So
we've been making headway on it. But as the county continues to
grow, we're going to continue to see that as a challenge.
Our volunteer and auxiliary members, they have contributed over
June 15, 2017
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32,000 hours, and that represents more than three-quarters of a million
dollars that we would have to pay for those services. And the men and
women who volunteer here, you know, we have some of the best in the
nation in their fields. So we're very happy that they want to come and
work together with us.
Summerfest continues to be a terrific program. We've been
growing that each and every year. Over the last two-and-a-half years,
we have increased programs for our young people by 58 percent, and
the majority of those have been done without increasing staff to do it.
So it's more about looking at what we have and what we do with it.
There have been a number of recognitions, I think, are really
important. We received the 2017 Alliance for Children and Family
Award; we received the Paragon Award from the Boys and Girls Club,
and that's for being a government champion of youth; the 2017
Expression Award. That is a graphic design award. It was a national
award. There were 81 persons that were vying for that award, and
your Sheriff's Office got it for our information and design that goes out
informing the public as to the good and the not-so-good things going
on throughout the county.
So the Florida CIT Coalition issued its first ever gold certificate,
and it was to the Collier County Sheriff's Office for meeting and
exceeding the Memphis Model Training program for crisis
intervention.
Eight years ago we started that -- actually implemented probably
nine, at least since I've been in place, we have trained 950 law
enforcement officers throughout Collier County and surrounding
counties.
We have put together a training program which is part of this
recognition that looks at how do you train law enforcement agencies in
the 40-hour course with limited resources both at the NOMI level --
and they are terrific, by the way. NOMI, throughout the years, has
June 15, 2017
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been absolutely terrific. But how do you do that and still patrol and put
in the time that you need?
So we put together a plan that accelerated the training, and that's
why today, other than new people coming in the door, we have trained
all of our certified members of our agency, or most of them at this
point. So that is a terrific accomplishment.
Lieutenant Minick, Team Leader of the Year from the Florida
Corrections Accreditation Unit. We received the Excelsior Award
from the Florida Accreditation Commission. That is the highest level
of achievement for a law enforcement accrediting organization that
they can bestow. So that is due to the work of all of our members.
So a lot has been going on. We continue to look at what we're
doing in each of the departments that are here today. We had a great
symposium yesterday looking at what has been going on in
corrections. More importantly, where we go, how we go, how we
ensure that the people that need to be housed are housed. How do we
transition people out of the system so that they don't recidivate, which I
believe, in addition to identifying those with mental-health problems,
are going to be the two major areas that we can make the community
safer, that we can reduce the resource costs it takes to run a jail
operation, which means lower the cost of operations in the jail, and if
we can do both of those things -- and I know that we can -- we are
going to have a terrific outcome.
And I think they looked at 2026 as one; one date out in 2045. I'm
going to tell you, I don't think I'll be here with you in 2045 to let you
know how that worked out, but I know that our team will do a terrific
job in making that occur.
Done a number of things in operations. Of course, day to day we
look at how we respond. We have critical incidents and issues,
wildfires being one of them. They created this year an incident
management team where we train up and identify people in advance
June 15, 2017
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that we can pull off within an hour or two's notice with whatever the
emergency might be and have them in place, properly equipped,
properly trained, and it worked out very well for our recent fires.
We looked at developing our tactical partnerships with Fire
Rescue and EMS. Things are changing around the country for those
emergency services. We've been working together long before they
started telling everybody, gee, you all need to work together to respond
to this type of an event should you have it. We've already been doing
that. And I want to recognize all the chiefs for that throughout Collier
County.
Community engagement, they continue to be a leader in
providing information and, as we were told by the Forestry Service,
they selected our Community Engagement Department to represent
what was going on with the wildfire situation, and they actually put out
and reached 1.18 million people with information on the wildfires, and
that was only in a four-day period. That is a terrific accomplishment.
More importantly, we had so much comment from the public that
said, thank you for letting us know what was going on, because they
didn't always know what was occurring. So that was very, very
important.
We continue with our active shooter threats and terrorism
training. We have now provided training to 3,900-plus residents in
Collier County. We have looked at probably 300 other business
organizations, and we will continue to do that. Again, not so much that
we may be directly threatened by an event of some sort. But the way
things are going, we will be prepared in the event that we are.
But if you're on vacation, if you're in Europe or you're in some
other large city, that you can apply the same information while you're
on vacation.
Winter season, we talked a little bit about accidents. We know
they're increasing. We put together our first winter season traffic task
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force. In just four months, 6,300, almost 6,400 traffic stops, 3,000-plus
citations, 3,000 warnings, 17 flex operations, and we are going to
continue to do that next season.
Some of you may know that I put on five more motorcycles, and
so traffic continues to be a main concern; any main complaint from the
public that we continue to address.
We've a lot of other things that have been accomplished. I think
I'll take it down, though, to where we're going as far as challenges,
because that's where I think most of our interest will be.
(Commissioner Fiala is now present via speakerphone.)
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: When we look at your support, again, we
want to recognize you and thank you for all health, safety, and welfare
issues. The Orangetree substation that was opened this year, you know,
for when we were there -- and I know a lot of you were there. But for
the public, I don't think a lot of them, when I made the comment
relative to the manufactured temporary substation -- when we started
getting bullet holes through the side of the building, we thought that
was a safety concern.
So we are very, very happy that we have a building to protect our
deputies when they need to take a break and do reports, so we thank
you for that. We also thank you for the helicopter purchase.
So as we look forward, growth, we continue to see that. I had an
opportunity to see Mark Strain's presentation. He did an absolutely
fabulous presentation. I'm going to have him come in and do it for our
staff so that they get a better understanding of where we're going to be
in the future.
Traffic enforcement we touched on.
Recruitment and retention continues to be a serious problem for
law enforcement nationally. We have similar issues here, just add in
housing, and it exacerbates where we need to be.
Threats against law enforcement are materializing daily. We are
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doing everything that we can. I've put a group together to look at ways
in which we can protect our deputies from everything from geo fencing
in law enforcement vehicles to ballistic plates and vests, and I'm going
to move forward with some of those as we get into the next budget
year or sooner, because I believe that with all the long gun and rifle
shooting going on that I'm going to upgrade vest plates for our deputies
and their tactical vests.
With all that, we still were able to prepare and submit a budget
that was within the parameters and guidelines that you felt were
important for the coming year.
So with that, we have our staff here. If you've got any questions
at all, we'd be happy to take them. But thank you for your
consideration of our operating budget.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just a couple of questions, and
it has to do mostly with corrections; so maybe Chief Carter, if I can ask
him.
When we're talking about appropriations for detention and
correction, there's a 40-some-odd million dollar request there. Does
that include the law enforcement aspect of that, or is that just strictly
for the facilities?
CHIEF CARTER: That would be for our cost in running the
facilities that's not picked up by the county and the cost of staffing
those facilities, basically.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. So a portion of the law
enforcement that's down below is --
CHIEF CARTER: I'm not sure as to what --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, there's another line item
down here that says law enforcement expenses, and I didn't know if
those were segregated, if the personnel was included in the detention
and correction, or is that a portion of law enforcement?
June 15, 2017
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CHIEF CARTER: It's all corrections employees, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay.
CHIEF CARTER: Corrections.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's it?
Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just a couple points.
I was noticing the chart on the -- in the booklet that you provided
us. On Page 1 it says, agency-wide issued traffic and boating citations,
and it looks like there's been a very substantial dropoff in the number
of tickets over the last 10 or 11 years and a large increase in the
number of warnings.
And I also noticed, I think there's -- in terms of traffic
enforcement, on Page 19 it looked like you were looking to have 30
positions and you only have 27, if I'm reading this -- I'm not sure if I'm
reading this correctly. And I believe you said -- I may have misheard
this -- but that there's been an increase in crashes in Collier County.
And I ride a motorcycle a lot on weekends, and I generally have
to go 15 miles an hour over the speed limit just to keep from getting
run over. And I'm wondering if there could be some more emphasis,
perhaps, on speed control, because I think it's actually kind of getting
out of hand in some roads. Livingston Road, for example, if you're not
going 65 miles an hour, then, you know, you're going slow.
951, hidden out east, the same thing. You have to go very fast
just to keep up with traffic.
That's just a question. Do you need more emphasis on speed
control and traffic control?
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: Yeah. The question is exactly why we
prepared what we did this coming year and increased the number of
motorcycle enforcement units that are available. We're still trying to
catch up from the years during the great recession, but we're putting
more and more people into traffic because that is a primary concern of
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our residents.
Speed control on Livingston Road -- and we are up there a lot.
The second we go, they're right back at it. But, yes, you're correct, yes,
we are -- we have created one this season, a task force. We are going
to do the same thing next season.
We actually have a summer mid season task force, and they will
be out there on Livingston Road this summer. So everybody listening
needs to listen, that they're out on Livingston Road.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just one followup question.
I know that in a lot of law enforcement agencies there's been a
dropoff in the writing of tickets because the fines are so high. That's
sort of been one of the unintended consequences of the legislature
continuing to increase penalties is that law enforcement officers are
somewhat more reluctant to write tickets. Is that part of the reason
why there's 45,000 warnings and -- or maybe it's not 45,000 warnings.
It's -- whatever that number is --
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: Yeah, it is, yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- 40,000 warnings and 13,000
tickets.
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: Yes. The answer to your question, yes.
The state, I believe -- and most of our people believe we're out of line
with the costs that were increased, and it poses a very severe problem
for our people to go in and take that corrective action.
On the other hand, corrective action doesn't always require a
traffic citation. So we authorize them to use any and all means they
can. But I will tell you that from the day they increased those fines
significantly, it posed a problem throughout the state of Florida with
law enforcement enforcement.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I would just -- again, just commend
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you for all the vision and all the work that you're doing with the
symposium and mental health. I think it's phenomenal, and I think it's
because of your leadership and moving in that direction, so thank you
for everything that you're all doing for the point.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Absolutely.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Any questions of our sheriff?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Nope. Thank you anyway.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Great job, Sheriff
Rambosk. It's a pleasure to work with you. In another venue you and I
worked together a little bit of time, and I feel very confident that the
county's in very good hands under your protective leadership, so thank
you.
SHERIFF RAMBOSK: Thank you very much.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, that concludes our constitutional
officer review. We'll move next back to our morning agenda and our
Administrative Services Department.
Administrative Services
MS. PRICE: Good afternoon, Commissioners. It was going to be
good morning.
Len Price, for the record, Administrative Services and Emergency
Services Department, and we're here today to present our budget to
you.
Our department is not the one that's openly visible that everybody
sees. We're the ones that, if we don't do our jobs, nothing else gets
done. And we try to stay behind the scenes and just continue working
as a strategic partner with all of the other agencies and all the
departments and divisions providing services and resources and
June 15, 2017
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operational efficiency to keeping the government running. And, of
course, like the rest of the county, we are very focused on customer
service, and we recognize that our customers are both internal and
external.
The budget that we've presented to you includes 356 FTEs; a total
budget of about 167 thousand -- or million dollars. A thousand would
be easier.
Within that, we've -- we're planning to add an additional EMS
station to address population growth. That will be in the East Naples
area, Hacienda Lakes, and there will be six additional positions to staff
that station.
A couple of other additions that we're adding is two network
administrators for the Public Utilities Department, to keep their
network operational, and some infrastructure upgrades that are
necessary to keep all the equipment running and all the lights on.
Beyond that, we're just going to continue to maintain current level
of service and add some increased efficiencies as the year goes on.
There were some organizational changes this year that impacted
our division. Isles of Capri was completely annexed into the Greater
Naples Fire District, so that's no longer part of our group, as well as the
Facilities Management Division moved into Public Utilities to
maximum some operational efficiencies and resources that they have
to offer. At the same time, we moved communications and customer
relations into our group for basically the same reasons.
So the new organization includes administration, customer
service and communications, fleet, information technology, risk
management, emergency services, EMS, human resources, and
procurement. And all of our directors are here today to answer any of
your questions that you might have.
I did want to touch on a few of our major accomplishments this
year, things that we're particularly proud of. We've begun
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implementing the Blue Zone workplace designation, and we're getting
very close to being able to have that designation through our wellness
group.
We've implemented a new agenda system for not only the Board
of County Commissioners meeting but also some of the other meetings
that we hold on a regular basis, and we're starting to expand that
opportunity. By doing so, we present on our website those agendas so
that the general public can see them almost immediately.
Our build-the-team group has implemented an online learning
system for our staff and revised our performance management system.
We've developed a vehicle recovery fund so that as we purchase
vehicles we also set aside the money to replace them down the road so
that we don't find ourselves in a situation where our vehicle, or rolling
stock, is not up to par.
We've added -- we've made significant progress on the public
safety radio system. That project is on time and on budget and
scheduled to complete during the next fiscal year.
We've responded to the busiest wildfire season that this group has
ever seen, and certainly the busiest that we've ever had in a number of
decades in Collier County.
I say we've got a new EMS station. We just opened one in North
Collier on Logan and Vanderbilt. Next year we're going to add one
more to our group.
We added closed captioning system for our televised meetings so
that all of our population can watch, and we've adopted a revised
procurement ordinance and the associated user manuals to go with that.
Next year we're going to be focusing, and our key challenges are
going to be keeping up with ever-increasing demands for services, and
that's internal and external, implementing and promotion of a 311
customer care system next year. Reductions in healthcare
reimbursement is providing some challenges to our EMS system.
June 15, 2017
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Obviously, meeting the sheltering needs of a growing population;
something that we're always trying to keep up with.
Keeping up with cyber security threats which has become
something that, for many years, we tried to guard against but didn't see
as very high risk, and that is really changing, and it keeps our IT team
constantly vigilant to keep from those threats entering into our system.
We are always trying to attract and retain qualified workforce,
keep them trained and keep them happy so that they stay here in
Collier County. And, of course, we continue to work on replacing
aging equipment.
So those are the challenges that we have before us, and I believe
that the budget that we've presented will help us meet and attack each
of those.
With that, I would open up the floor to any questions you might
have.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I have a couple questions, and
it will probably show my ignorance, but it won't be the first time.
I wanted to, first of all, just to comment. I want to make sure that
you have in EMS all of the technology you need to do proper coding
and that sort of thing to make sure that you're maximizing
reimbursements on Medicaid and Medicare. Are there any needs there
that are not being met, or is there any technology that you don't have or
would like to have that would help in that regard?
CHIEF BUTCHER: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Tabitha
Butcher, Collier County EMS Chief.
At this time we do have the technology we need for billing. We
did recently put an RFP out for billing services, so that may be
changing within the future, and we did interview several billing
companies that are operating with advanced technology to be able to
find addresses, find insurance that people may not submit at the time
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that we take their information.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. So that's an ongoing
effort then?
CHIEF BUTCHER: It is an ongoing effort.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: The other thing, I was trying to
determine what the ad valorem support for EMS is, and it looks like, if
I'm reading this correctly, in the projected would be just over 22
million.
MR. ISACKSON: Commissioner, let me take that question.
Go to Page 62 under the tab, if you would, and you'll see that the
transfer from a General Fund, Fund 490, is 17 million -- $17.5 million
--
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay.
MR. ISACKSON: -- which is a 16.9 increase over the '17 budget.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: And the question that I would
have is, is there anything we can do to reduce that number? I would
assume that our fees are probably where they should be. But is there
room to increase those? Is there a way to reduce that number?
CHIEF BUTCHER: Sure. The fees are according to our billing
company. We check those each year to see where we are in
comparison to the rest of the state and other like EMS agencies, and
we're actually right in the middle for the state of Florida.
So the billing company has recommended a potential increase in
the air medical transport fees, so that is something that we've been
looking into doing, and we will most likely be moving forward with
that.
We are also looking at programs that may help tackle some of the
health issues that we're seeing on the front end before 911 is called.
Because one of the challenges that we're seeing in all of healthcare is
that patients can't get into their primary-care physician, or they just
don't simply have the access to get into it. So what happens is they end
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up calling 911. Similar to the jail, that's where they know that they're
going to get immediate care that they do not have to pay up front.
So we are working on a community project that may address
some of those things that we can actually take care of upfront to
prevent patients from calling 911, which will help with those -- the
General Fund contribution.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: In terms of the fees that you
have, you indicate we're kind of in the middle range. Is there any
reason why we would want to stay in the middle range as opposed to
go up a little bit? Is there some reason why we don't increase those
fees a little bit?
CHIEF BUTCHER: Well, the challenge that you have when you
increase fees is that the majority of our payer mix in Collier County, 70
percent to be exact, is actually Medicare and Medicaid, and those
payments are not going to change.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Right. I understand.
CHIEF BUTCHER: So what it's actually going to affect is
commercial insurance or self pay, and self pay is typically what we
have to write off. And if we increase that amount, we're going to end
up writing off more.
And the other challenge, as Administrator Price mentioned, is that
with fee rise in cost of healthcare, a lot of the deductibles are going up,
so people actually that have insurance are falling into that self-pay
category because their deductibles are so high.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's it? Okay.
Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Nothing.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, nothing from me. I already
asked my question about helicopters.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. I have two questions;
one for Dan. We learned earlier that there's been an increase in
wildfire mitigation. How do you feel about that amount and is it
enough or -- and what kind of efforts are you going to be able to
appropriate to that?
MR. SUMMERS: Well, thank you. And I appreciate very much
you asking that. We worked very diligently with the fire service.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Excuse me. I think the mics are off on
this table.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: He's just not close enough.
Tabitha was fine.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: No. I think that one's just not
working.
MR. SUMMERS: Can you hear me now?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I heard you fine.
MR. SUMMERS: Very good. Thank you.
And I'm really glad you asked that question. The appropriation
that you generously offered to us during this last wildfire discussion,
it's only been in the last two or three weeks or since -- should we say
since the rain started that our partners at Forestry were able to catch
their breath. They were still working incidents statewide.
So we have prepared a draft interlocal agreement. It just went to
Tallahassee about a week ago to get that interlocal funding, the
supplemental funding you have recommended earmarked -- get that
paperwork started to you.
I know there's a big push to get that done before the summer
recess, so hopefully we can get some cooperation from Tallahassee to
do that.
Our Forestry partners are recommending that of that money about
70,000 be made available for equipment, and they're in the process of
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spec'ing that equipment, but they'd like for us to make that acquisition.
We still have to review that. But they will handle the maintenance, the
repair, the fueling.
The fire districts, I think, Commissioner Saunders brought a
really good idea to make sure that the fire districts participated. While
they're not going to be part of that agreement, they are going to
contribute like-kind services, whether it's fuel or additional personnel
for the mitigation burns when those come out, and then a small amount
of money for public education and public awareness for their
mitigation team. So we're working very hard to get that agreement to
you for consideration before the break. I think it's a great start.
Parallel to that is the staff meeting on the wildfire mitigation
long-term solution. You asked us to look at a long-term fix. So that
group has had three meetings. Right now they have two more
scheduled. Hopefully they will have a report that I can give to you
before the break that is going to have a litany of recommendations as
you all suggested.
We've had great participation from Public Utilities, the fire
district, Land Development Code. So all of those Fire Wise -- if you
remember that wildfire urban interface mitigation discussion, that
group is working diligently to bring you some recommendations.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I find that interesting, because
when I was -- as we were going through the Fire Wise seminars and
those sort of things, the general consensus was Forestry had the asset
base. They needed the money to deploy the people to actually put
forward the plan. Forestry already has a preventative mitigation plan.
They just haven't necessarily been able to implement it because of
expenses, but they weren't, per my understanding, shy of assets.
And then you start off by saying 70- of the 75- is going to
equipment.
MR. SUMMERS: It's for assets, right.
June 15, 2017
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One of the things that they wanted to do -- and I think they have
either -- they're going to use some of their wildfire mitigation grant
money as a result of the federal disaster declaration for the wildfire,
they indicated that it looks like that they were going to be able to
actually improve their manning, but it was the smaller tractor
environment that was going to be more efficient for us, or the smaller
chopping unit.
So they want to do to the manpower. That makes our funding
stream much easier to them. They claim they can do the mitigation
with manpower either contract or on hand, and this extra piece of
equipment will let them cover a little more real estate. That was our
recent recommendation.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's fine. I'm sure we'll get
to talk about that. I don't mean to belabor the point. It just was
contrary to the majority of the discussions that I had had as we were
coming through.
I mean, we were forced into making some decisions with regard
to a known issue with the lack of preventative fire mitigation. So
happy to have something.
MR. SUMMERS: We are working diligently with them, and we
really want to bring you something before recess.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Great.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: The other question I had was
on -- excuse me -- on our rolling stock and aging equipment. Who
does that?
MR. MENENDEZ: I can take that question. I'm going to use this
mic.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just -- I wasn't able to find in
the information that I received what kind of an analysis we go through
from a cost benefit associated with the replacement of the purportedly
aging and rolling stock equipment.
June 15, 2017
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MR. MENENDEZ: Yes. For the record, Mario Menendez with
Fleet Management.
We have a very robust fleet management software, and part of
that software we have programmed key points to look at; cost of
equipment, how long the life expectancy is, cost of maintenance,
things of that nature. And we run reports yearly to look at equipment
and make recommendations for replacement.
You probably know, most folks know, you know, just like with
your personal vehicle, at some point any kind of equipment starts
costing you more than it's worth. So you want to move some
equipment at that point.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's why I'm asking, and I
just wanted to know --
MR. MENENDEZ: We do. We do it yearly, and we make the
recommendations, and then we work with budgets and individual
departments and divisions as to what we can afford to replace.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Could I see that sometime, one
of those --
MR. MENENDEZ: Absolutely.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- analysis just to see --
MR. MENENDEZ: I can make that available.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: -- some of the stock that we
have going on. I see a lot of new county vehicles showing up in my
world, and I just want to know how bad the old ones were.
MS. PRICE: They were pretty bad.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: My last question was for Ted.
How's everything over in Purchasing?
MR. COYMAN: Things are wonderful; thank you for asking.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Good.
MR. COYMAN: We're making good headway. We have a very
aggressive plan to update our policies and procedures and train not
June 15, 2017
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only procurement staff but also general county staff on, you know, best
practice execution of procurement but also in the area of contract
administration.
So later, in a number of months, the Board will be seeing another
revision to the procurement ordinance, and that will be an overhaul of
the aspect of the ordinance that deals with contract administration, and
we'll be giving the County Manager a new policy manual that will also
include training for project managers who are being asked to
administer their relationship between the county and the vendor when
vendors are performing under a contract.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Beautiful. And as a point of
discussion, I would like to see us be moving towards an initiative for
bringing private citizenry into the processes, through procurement,
through contract management.
We have an inordinate amount of knowledge in our community,
retired folks from different industries throughout the world. And I
believe that the greater transparency we have in all of our processes,
especially in contract management, the greater opportunity we will
have for success.
We'll be able to garner a lot of -- I call it local knowledge, but I
would -- I would really like to see that. I know it's not something that
we do on a regular basis, but I'd like to see it tried in a couple of our
processes.
MR. MENENDEZ: Well, as we progress, there are a number of
roundtables planned, at least with the vendor community, so for
architects and engineers, general contractors, and other service
providers, and then as we make additional progress, then normally
what I would do is then do outreach to the general chambers of
commerce and others in the community so that they're aware of not
only the opportunities that the county has -- because we do need
vendor participation -- but the public needs to understand that we try
June 15, 2017
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very, very hard to be a good steward of the tax revenue when it's being
let out in procurement.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's all.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you.
Thank you very much. No questions. Thank you for this
presentation.
Public Utilities
MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, thank you.
The next folks that are going to be up are the Public Utilities
folks, Mr. Yilmaz and his leadership team.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It suddenly got warm up here.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. I didn't know if it --
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It was remaining nice and cool.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Is the A/C not working?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It's getting a little warmer.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Is that the facilities number?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We'll open up in here. We'll lower
the temperature.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes, thank you. This was
apropos for Facilities to show up as we're all sitting here sweating.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: George?
MR. YILMAZ: Good afternoon, Commissioners. For the record,
George Yilmaz, Public Utilities Administrator.
First, we sincerely appreciate your confidence, continued
confidence in our leadership and our team, and we sincerely appreciate
the continued support we get from our County Manager's Office.
I'm very pleased to report that proposed budget meets the
board-approved guidance as our County Manager indicated in this
morning during his opening remarks.
June 15, 2017
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This proposed budget enables the Public Utilities to continue to
deliver the life-sustaining essential services, including facilities, that
will meet current and the future demand. I'm going to have our
Director of Financial Operations provide you with highlights of the
budget which cost quarter billion dollars.
Joe?
MR. BALLONE: Thank you, George.
Good afternoon, Commissioners. For the record, Joe Ballone.
I'm the Director of Financial Operations for Public Utilities.
By way of a little background, Commissioners, Public Utilities
Department is comprised of two distinct revenue centric enterprise
operations. It's the Collier County Water/Sewer District, the Solid and
Hazardous Waste Management Division. And as you know by now, in
FY18, the department budget also includes Facilities Management
Division.
So I'll address each of these businesses individually, and I'll begin
with the Collier County Water/Sewer District.
So in Fiscal 2018, in our budget, the Utility plans to produce and
distribute 9.1 billion gallons of potable water; collect, transmit and
treat almost seven billion gallons of wastewater; and then redistribute
over six billion gallons of irrigation quality water for our customers
and visitors of Collier County, and those will meet all the regulatory
agency requirements 24/7/365.
The district is comprised of six divisions. As an Enterprise Fund,
the district revenues represent fees for service across multiple funds.
There are no General Fund in the water/sewer -- no General Fund
funding in the water/sewer district.
So to generate the revenues sufficient to support district's
operating expenses, its payment in lieu of taxes, the capital investment
program, debt service payments, and the reserves that meet the budget
guidance.
June 15, 2017
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As Leo mentioned this morning, the FY18 proposed revenue does
include a Consumer Price Index adjustment of 2.9 percent to our
potable water, wastewater, and IQ user fees. So these minor rate
adjustments do allow the district to keep pace with inflation and avoid
rate shock in the future.
A little bit about our Capital Improvement Program. The repair
and rehabilitation program is funded at $77 million this year. It's
allocated across projects on a risk-based assessment.
Some of the major water projects that you'll see in our capital plan
include the repair and rehabilitation of water mains in Naples Park, the
Glades, and in old Lely.
We will continue our meter renewal and replacement program,
and the CIP does include two new raw water wells.
Some of our significant wastewater projects will include a new
master pump station at Naples Park. And, as you know,
Commissioner, there's quite a lot going on in that part of the county.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: A lot going on up there.
MR. BALLONE: In East Naples, we will relocate Master Pump
Station 308. That's the Gateway triangle; and we'll rehabilitate 10 lift
stations in the 305 basin, and we're going to replace Master Pump
Station 306. That's the Bayshore-Thomasson area.
That Capital Improvement Plan does include $2 million for
repairs and improvements at the water and wastewater plants operating
at the Orangetree Utility site, and that will include some rehabilitation
of portions of the water distribution and wastewater collection
infrastructure in that area.
The water/sewer district has a debt service in 2018 of $17.9
million. About 13.3 million of that is growth related, and the rest is
user fees. It's fully funded.
Like the General Fund, we have no new debt programmed in
Fiscal 2018; however, as you know, the county's growing very fast,
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and if that does place demand for incremental capacity, we will be
back to the Board to discuss that.
The Fitch's bond rating does remain at Triple A, and Moody's
rating that was raised last year remains at AA1.
I'll talk about reserves a bit. The unrestricted reserves in the
water/sewer district for operations and capital combined total $26.9
million. That represents about 59 days of operating and capital funds,
and that's within the board-approved guidance of 45 to 90 days.
So, in summary, the district is revenue centric, meets the budget
guidelines that you've approved back in February.
I'll move on to the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Division. The division is set to meet all federal, state, and local
regulations for solid and hazardous waste collection and disposal to
ensure public health and safety as well as increasing public awareness
of the importance of recycling and waste diversion. As an enterprise
fund, their revenues represent fees for service; again, across multiple
funds.
Our customer accounts at the recycling centers are anticipated to
exceed 76,000 in Fiscal 2018, and that does include the long-awaited
opening of the newest northeast recycling center in the second quarter.
We approximate in the second quarter.
The DEP certified recycling rate for Fiscal 2015, which is last
year -- we have a certified rate -- was 65 percent and well within reach
of the state goal of 75 percent by 2020. And, essentially, what will
help us get there is enhanced multifamily and commercial recycling
initiatives in 2018.
Tonnage at the Collier County Landfill as well as the Immokalee
transfer station continues to increase over prior years, and that's
current, as you would expect, with county growth and the
demographics of our new residents.
We expect to provide service to almost 129,000 residential
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curbside customers by the end of Fiscal 2018. Our franchise haulers
currently collect almost 38,000 daily trash collections. The tipping
fees, as County Manager mentioned this morning, they represent fees
for service. They'll be adjusted by the Consumer Price Index as well,
2.9 percent, in accordance with the budget guidance. Those are
necessary to meet customers demand at the landfill, the recycling
centers, and it fully funds our Capital Improvement Program in Solid
Waste.
For our curbside customers, annual assessment will increase in
both District 1 and District 2 about $17 a year. That's about $1.41 a
month, primarily driven by the tonnage per account increase, which
have been consistently rising over the past several years, as well as the
contractual contract rate that we pay our haulers, by 75 percent of the
April Consumer Price Index.
We also have a demand for infield face-to-face trash collection
and recycling education with our growing residential and commercial
customer base.
In solid waste, the Capital Improvement Program is funded at
$9.1 million this coming year, and to ensure compliance at the landfill,
including construction of a self-funded -- thank you, Mark --
deep-injection well. And solid waste will remain debt free in 2018
where we will continue the pay-as-you-go approach in this coming
year.
Operating and capital reserves in this division are budgeted at
$9.3 million. That represents 65 days of operation and capital up from
last year. Within the budget policy guidelines -- and we need those
reserves to respond to the disaster debris recovery mission.
And, again, the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Division is revenue centric as an Enterprise Fund in 2018.
And, lastly, as you've all been waiting for, the Facilities
Management Division. Funding for this division, however, unlike the
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other two, comes primarily from the General Fund. It has a total net
operating budget of 15.4 million, and 14.3 million of that comes from
the General Fund.
The division, as you know, is dedicated to providing secure,
clean, and comfortable facilities for our citizens, visitors, and our staff.
It provides maintenance, construction, and capital renovations for the
county structures, not only for the Board's agency, but for the Collier
County Sheriff's Office, Clerk of Courts, along with your judicial
officers, Tax Collector, and the Supervisor of Elections.
Division also provides professional property acquisition,
management, and leasing services. And the Capital Improvement
Program in this division is 5.3 million in this proposed budget, and the
primary focus will be on air-conditioning, heating and ventilation
repairs, roofing projects, and general building repairs.
Project management in FY18 is focused on jail facilities and
structural improvements of other Sheriff's Office facilities.
Commissioners, those are the highlights of the Public Utilities
Department budget. Thank you for your attention and your continued
guidance. And we're here to answer any questions you might have.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Solis?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I don't have any questions. I just
want to commend the staff and Dr. George for the way they've handled
all of the utility work in District 2; the Vanderbilt Drive perfect storm.
You know, we toured that with Dr. George a few weeks ago, and the
idea of having an on-site kind of command center or troubleshooting
center was really, really important, I think, to the residents there, and
they really appreciated that.
I know when I first started and the construction started, I was
getting a lot of emails, a lot of calls. Great job in expediting the
schedule and being responsive to the owners there, because they -- I
think they all really appreciate it.
June 15, 2017
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And I am glad to say that the number of daily emails and calls has
gone way down.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's because he's getting it all. It's at
that little office on site.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I mean, I think it's -- you know, just
so everyone knows, Dr. George was able to expedite the schedule to
get the first couple of roads paved, and once that happened and
everybody saw what the final product was going to be, I think
everyone breathed a sigh of relief and is very, very appreciative. So
my hats off to staff; really a great job in taking a tough situation for a
lot of people and turning it into a positive. So thank you very much.
MR. YILMAZ: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes, thank you so much.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, there you are.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Being that I've been out of
commission a little bit -- oh, there's a little play on words there. Being
that I've been away just a little bit, I was wondering, George, in your
department, how are things going with all this rain and everything
down in Goodland replacing that water system?
MR. YILMAZ: All good, Commissioner. We're good.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: It's moving along even with all that
rain, huh?
MR. YILMAZ: We're moving along. Delays are marginal, and
we're on schedule.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay. Thank you very much.
MR. YILMAZ: Our pleasure.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No questions.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Just -- we've talked about two
utility systems, the one in Golden Gate City, the FGUA system, and
then I think there's been some conversation about Everglades City.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Oh, boy, do we.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Is there anything we need to
be prepared for in terms of budgets for any of those two issues that are
kind of percolating around?
MR. YILMAZ: Commissioner, not at this time; however, we do
have working draft documents coming before the Board for -- one
agenda item deals with FGA, and that will lay out what the steps are.
Thereafter, whatever is needed, we'll bring it before you through our
County Manager's Office. And Everglades is still in litigation and
pending, and we're standing by.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's it?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Uh-huh.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I just wanted to thank you, Dr. George,
for what you did during the fires. I've heard from more than one fire
chief that the pressure was in those hydrants and that it was because of
the Public Utilities, that you really addressed it and, County Manager,
this is to your credit also; when you have an emergency, everybody
worked it for this.
MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Everybody did. And you were there at
all hours, and I -- you know, I really want to thank you on behalf of
everyone. It's just great.
MR. YILMAZ: Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner.
And I want to take this opportunity to thank over 430 strong men
and women working 24/7 three shifts. And you're right, we had to
produce about five to six million gallons additional water underrun, at
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the same time move our water supply from south water wellfield to
other wellfields, and we were able to capitalize and optimize our
infrastructure so that not only we could energize and pressurize 951
corridor but also newly energize Immokalee corridor all the way to
fairgrounds. And that, I think, did help tremendously creating a water
barrier.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And so I guess the final question; you
ready to play ball on 305?
MR. YILMAZ: Yes, ma'am. We've got to build it fast.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's a leading statement.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It's going to happen. It's going to
happen. And so, finally, Dennis, how's that little boy? I thought you'd
bring him in here today.
MR. LINGUIDI: We're good. He's growing fast.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Is he looking like you more and more?
MR. LINGUIDI: Unfortunately.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. If there's no other
questions, thank you very much.
Management Offices (Pelican Bay)
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, that moves us to your review of
your management office budgets. I think we would lead with the
review of our Pelican Bay budget and Mr. Dorrill, and the rest of those
are really more by exception or question than formal presentation.
MR. DORRILL: How you doing?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: All by yourself?
MR. DORRILL: Seems like I have been most of my life when
I've sat in this room. In fact, it's nice to see Commissioner Saunders.
When I last had the opportunity to work with him, our sons had just
been born, and my boy just graduated from college two weeks ago, so
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I hope you're right there, too.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Both of mine have graduated
as well.
MR. DORRILL: Good.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: You're aging both of us in
terms of --
MR. DORRILL: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for the
opportunity. And for those of you who are new on the Commission,
and by way of introduction, the Pelican Bay Services Division is a
special purpose and dependent district of county government, so we're
a little different in respects to the size and the scope of our activities.
We exist primarily as a public works and conservation entity, and
we work alongside the foundation there. But we raise non-ad valorem
assessments and ad valorem taxes to fulfill a variety of needs.
We own almost 500 streetlights that are rapidly being converted
to LED technology. We maintain over three million square feet of
sodded areas, and over 100 landscape medians.
In addition, the people of Pelican Bay are very proud of the fact
that they're one of the few entities in the state of Florida that is using
property tax revenue to renourish their beach. Statewide, the model is
state revenue and tourist taxes, but in the case of Pelican Bay, it's
entirely property-tax driven as a portion of what they do. They're very
proud of that.
I will tell you your current advisory board has some of the most
talented people that I have ever worked for and include two public
administrators retired, one of whom spent 20 years as a superintendent
of schools who this year is chairman. We have four engineers, one of
whom is a retired executive vice president, pharmaceutical giant,
worldwide responsibility. We have a banker. We have the general
manager of the Naples Grande Hotel, and highly sophisticated people.
With me today is the past chairman of our cost-reduction
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committee and the current budget chair, Mic Shepherd, who spent a
lifetime in engineering and general contracting, and I say that to say
that we have a budget that is advanced to you on a majority vote of, I
believe it was, 7-1 that day with the two absent.
Next year's budget does include a modest increase of 10 percent.
Ten percent seems high, but I will tell you, given the relatively low
amount of our non-ad valorem assessment, a 10 percent increase in this
particular case is $5.10 per month or $61 per year to do all of the
things that we're doing.
Including our new activities, we're accumulating and banking
$200,000 a year for future beach renourishment work in a special fund,
and we're doing that with the same number of full-time county
employees. We do have a very difficult labor model there. Half of our
employees come to us by way of contracted day labor. And I'll just tell
you, in the current economy, that is a brutal market for which to be
looking for and motivating and retaining our workforce.
With that in mind, and just as a brief aside, we just, at our
meeting last week, recognized an employee and nominated him to the
County Manager's values and practices recognition, an individual,
Hispanic, who came to work for us almost 25 years ago as a
groundskeeper, and he worked for 24 years as a groundskeeper until he
received an opportunity and was just recently promoted to a senior
crew leader in our irrigation system. I think that speaks very well of
the County Commission as an employer.
And so as a three-minute civics lesson, that's a little bit about
what we do, how we do it, and who we do it for, in this case, our very
hands-on advisory board.
We do have five major funds. We have eight special cost centers.
And as it relates to next year's budget, I can tell you where the
increases are that are resulting in this $5-per-month increase.
In 2005, in anticipation of a potential annexation into the City of
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Naples, the division depleted all of its cash reserves and did not levy
assessments in that particular year in anticipation that if they annexed,
they didn't want to come into the city general government with a bunch
of special revenue they had raised themselves.
For the better part of the last 10 years, they have not gotten back
up to a CPI adjusted level of where their assessments would have been
had they not levied an assessment and depleted their reserves.
So there has been a great deal of catch-up work in the last couple
of years since my arrival in a contract capacity, and the leading one of
which is contracted tree trimming and pruning. This year we would
have spent, and next year, rather, almost $300,000 in trimming and
pruning their canopy tree and hardwood trees that are along the main
boulevards that they are extremely proud of. But $300,000 next year is
an increase of 114,000.
We have budgeted an increase of almost $30,000 in our
contracted day labor. We have increases in our irrigation cost in
anticipation of Dr. Yilmaz's annual rate increase, and then we have
$113,000 in operating capital improvements.
We are not part of your closed, captured motor pool cost recovery
program. We have to raise our own cash in order to purchase
equipment at the time that it is needed. We go through the same type
of analysis as do other county departments and divisions, but in this
case there's not an incremental or allocated expense that accumulates
monthly or quarter that then automatically has funds to replace that
vehicle or that piece of equipment at the time.
So we're on kind of a cash basis, if you will, and so we are
accumulating cash, and we'll spend $113,000 next year replacing three
vehicles and one Kaboda utility-type vehicle and then some of our skid
mowers that we use there. So that's, essentially, an overview and the
primary increases in our budget next year.
Quick snap of, long term, some of the things that we would like to
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work on. We met recently with Dr. Yilmaz's staff. Our facility, the
one that was originally constructed by Westinghouse Communities, is
now almost 40 years old, and it is a very decrepit frame structure in
need of a new roof that has old masonite-type siding on it that has not
really held up very well over the course of time.
We would like to build a new sort of pre-engineered metal
butler-type building to give us a place to combine our administrative
function. We lease space currently in one of the Class A office towers
there in Pelican Bay. We don't really need to do that.
So we've just started some discussions with them about the
possibility of making an investment on land that the utility division
owns on your behalf. We'll be trying to contemplate some type of land
lease or instrument that will give the services division a property
interest in order to come back and recommend to you at another day
some major capital improvements.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for the privilege of being
able to work on your behalf there in Pelican Bay.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
Public Comments
MR. CASALANGUIDA: Commissioners, you have two public
speakers. Actually one that's been ceded time. Dr. Joseph Doyle,
ceded time by Sandra Doyle.
DR. DOYLE: Hi. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Dr. Joseph
Doyle on behalf of my mother, Sandy Doyle, who's the property owner
in Pelican Bay.
I actually agree with a lot of what Mr. Dorrill had to say. There
was the thought that Pelican Bay Services Divisions might merge in
with the city back in 2005, so they did spend down some reserves;
however, I do disagree with some of the other stuff that he said.
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When we had the financial crash in 2007, for about four or five
years there the assessment was around 370 to $398. But then -- and it
was to, you know, kind of soften the blow for what was happening.
After that, we saw in 2015 the assessment increased to 426, then
it increased to 508 in 2016, and then this year it's 591, and then for
next year they want to make it 652. And as we said, those were 15 to
19 percent increases. This year it's going to be a 10 percent increase.
Well, that is much higher than the CPI. We can go through the
whole thing. We can debate, you know, what the CPI -- if you want to
look back at what it was in 2007, et cetera. The 652 is way out of line.
I think that actually they got more -- when we got to the 508 in
2016, we were on par with the CPI. So I think you've been misled
there in the figures.
A lot of -- but to his point, the community is hitting 40 years old,
and there's a lot of stuff that needs to be replaced.
But I think what we're looking at here is that we have a diverse
community. And I know it's probably one of the wealthiest
communities in Collier County. We have 8 percent of the property
base. We are over six billion dollars of property base for the county.
So, you know, we're a net donor to county operations, okay.
However, we have this MSTBU that -- you know, we have people
who are keeping the grounds with salary and benefits making $60,000
per person to mow the lawn. Why can't we find some efficiencies with
some contract labor instead of making them government employees?
Okay.
Now, Mr. Shepherd, who he was referring to, is here today. He
was on the Ad Hoc Cost Containment Committee. But I will tell you,
there was a special meeting -- and you can look in the archives -- in
November of last year, 2016, and some of the major recommendations
were not implemented. Okay.
So we have an issue here with cost control. I think that the
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services division could be run a little bit more efficiently. And also,
we're mowing about 20 to 25 percent of foundation property.
So, you know, we can look at that, too. There's some issues here
that have been discussed back and forth on -- by the advisory board.
Of course, the majority doesn't agree with that particular vision.
Now, I think what we're really finding here, though, is with these
increases in the non-ad valorem assessment, and then speaking with
Commissioner Solis, who was gracious to talk to me last week for a
half an hour, it's really becoming apparent that the non-ad valorem part
of assessment is coming to light. Now, why do I say that?
Well, when you have the ad valorem assessment -- which is what
we have right now for the street-lighting fund, 778, street-lighting and
security -- it was security. Now it's just all street-lighting -- that
protects the homeowner from the increase in the property value, the
Save Our Homestead exemption. But the non-ad valorem assessment
that I'm talking about here today, this 652, that keeps going up and up,
and there's no cap on that.
So I believe what's happening is that a lot of these maintenance
and operational expenses -- for instance, for the groundskeepers and
for maintaining the Pelican Bay office and those sorts of things -- are
erroneously being put into the non-ad valorem part of the assessment
and should be in the ad valorem part of the assessment, and then some
of these capital improvements that Mr. Dorrill is talking about, such as
a new little building that they need and this sort of thing, that should be
in the non-ad valorem.
Because my mother -- there are 92 communities in Pelican Bay.
My mother lives in one of the lower end. Okay. Lower end still being
a $400,000 property. But she doesn't live in the multi-million. Okay.
Her property taxes for the county last year were $518, but her
assessment for Pelican Bay was 591. She's paying more for MSTBU
than she is for county taxes.
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Now, Mr. Shepherd, okay, his were 1,480 for the county, and he
pays 591 to Pelican Bay. And, of course, you know one of the
prominent people who's on the Board, his property tax just for the
county part was 2,700 and pays 591 for Pelican Bay. They're all paying
591 for Pelican Bay.
But for my mother, if you look at her total tax bill, 23-and-a-half
percent of her bill is going to this assessment; Mr. Shepherd's 10.8
percent; and the other person, 6.2 percent. These board members do
not feel her pain.
We have to do something with the ad valorem versus the non-ad
valorem assessments here, please.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Mr. Solis, do you have any questions
for -- Mr. Solis -- Commissioner Solis, do you have any questions for
the speaker?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: No, not for Mr. Doyle.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I had a couple for Mr. Dorrill.
DR. DOYLE: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Just -- could you just give me an
idea, the special assessment portion of what's being levied, what
specifically do those special assessments go to provide? I guess I'm
not close enough to my microphone. Sorry.
MR. DORRILL: The non-ad valorem special assessment, most
closely compared to the same type of structure for independent
community development districts, breaks down as follows: Of the
$652, $133 goes into water management and drainage associated
projects and conservation areas and exotic mitigation for which there
are extensive preserves there that are owned by the Board of County
Commissioners, maintained and kept exotic-free by the services
division on your behalf.
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Landscape and beautification is the majority of what we do, $401.
Clam Bay, you know, several years ago and historically they have
been the stewards of Clam Bay. They're spending $21.07 of their own
money in addition to a contribution from your Unincorporated Area
Fund 111.
And then they, next year, will spend $97 on capital projects. The
total is $650 or, as I said, an increase of about $61 or $5 a month. But
that's the breakout.
Street-lighting, historically, going back to the 1970s, has always
been done as a taxing district, and so this one was set up the same way.
And so their streetlight program is currently -- they are looking at, long
range, broadening that and asking you, potentially, to consider an
ordinance amendment.
There is widespread concerns over the qualities of the pathways
in Pelican Bay along the main boulevards that are all asphalt, one of
the few places in the county, and just very difficult to maintain,
especially with their canopy and trees and a lot of root upheaval.
There's strong interest in a preliminary set of construction plans to
do a demonstration project and install wider concrete sidewalks, and
the desired source of funds to do that would require an ordinance
amendment.
And so there is some thought being given to taking the sidewalks
off of your hands and using, in this case, ad valorem tax dollars to
broaden their appeal and maintenance programs there.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: But that's not in this -- that's not in
this budget?
MR. DORRILL: That's separate. Streetlights are currently
separate and, potentially in the future, sidewalk repair and
maintenance, which is not currently one of our responsibilities.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: And the projects for which the
special assessments are used, all of that methodology and all the
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apportionment and all that was done years ago.
MR. DORRILL: Yeah. The original methodology was done in
the '70s. You know, Pelican Bay is somewhat unique. It and Reedy
Creek, which is now Walt Disney World, were the first community
improvement districts in the state of Florida. Most people don't realize
that. But at the very conception of the community by Westinghouse,
there was a methodology study that performed that assigned a certain
number of equivalent dwelling units to each parcel of land.
And, you know, I'm sensitive to Dr. Doyle and some of the more
modest communities that are there, but at the same time, we also send
non-ad valorem assessments to Artis Naples, the Archdiocese of
Venice through their Catholic church that is there. The county park site
and the county utility site are all paying their proportionate fair share
of a flat rate of assessment, which is really kind of a novel way of
having tax exempt entities also contribute and pay their fair share.
So that's -- on the flip side, the fact that Artis Naples is paying us
the equivalent of almost $30,000 a year in non-ad valorem assessments
is money that we would otherwise not have that we would have to pass
through to residential property owners. Good point. Philosophical sort
of debate, but I think there are pros and cons both ways.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: And it was -- the approval for this
budget by the Board was a 7-1 vote, you said?
MR. DORRILL: 7-1 with two absent that day.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: No other questions.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Okay. I don't have any.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Nothing from me.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Just two.
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And I appreciate you sharing that information with me with
regard to the capacity to charge typically tax exempt organizations a
pro rata share of the overall expenses.
Have you looked -- I mean, because Dr. Doyle brings up a good
point. Have you looked at a different -- if you change the
methodology of how you charged on a -- similar to an ad valorem
percentage but not -- but still on a non-ad valorem assessment, would
-- have you looked at it to be able to ascertain if there's a different way
to do it to have a more equitable distribution?
MR. DORRILL: We are, and that's why I wanted to give you a
little sneak preview and allude to the fact there is a strong interest in
the community to take the sidewalks off your hands and go to more of
a blended rate and target; in this case, the source of funds would be ad
valorem funds, which is the thought thus far.
Now, I need to bring back a formal proposal to you. But at this
point, we are sort of headed in that direction as more of a blended rate
of revenue generation as opposed to the historical process that we've
used.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. And my other question
-- you made mention you're kind of running on a cash basis with
regard to your rolling stock and equipment and that sort of thing.
Would it be possible for us -- because I was, in the last presentation,
told we have a rather robust program in place to ascertain the useful
life and then programming, if you will, with regard to the replacement.
Is that something we, the county, could offer to you to be utilized?
MR. DORRILL: We're required to use your repair facilities and
your software cost analysis program to make decisions. The thing that
we're not doing is -- and I'm not the one who's qualified to talk about
how you capture a capital recovery cost either on a millage or on a
depreciation sort of basis. But when it comes to replace that vehicle or
that piece of equipment, we have to have cash on hand as opposed to
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cash that has been accumulated over time in what I'll call your motor
pool or enterprise fund.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And we -- I was told -- I was
told -- at least I understood that we have a program like that, and can
we offer that to you? Would that be of assistance?
MR. DORRILL: You do. In fact -- and the budget committee
looks at their recommendations for capital replacement as part of their
budget deliberation.
I can show you the analysis that was done this year, because it
was very helpful. It includes some life-cycle cost and actual repairs
and projected repairs based on engine hours or mileage of the
equipment on hand.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So we're already doing that?
MR. DORRILL: And it's pretty sophisticated. I think that you
ought to take a look at that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, I -- okay. Good. I just
understood you to say that you were on a cash basis with regard --
MR. DORRILL: For replacement.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's for replacement, okay.
MR. DORRILL: And just in theory -- and Leo or Mark can
correct me if I'm wrong. I think the other divisions and departments,
they may be paying a mileage charge so that when a replacement is
necessary, that cash comes from the motor pool fund to make the
capital outlay as opposed to in our case it comes from our funds in
order to make the replacement.
MR. ISACKSON: Just to add to what Neil said, that's one of the
reasons why we can try and not include the funds that are either MSTU
or MSTBU because we don't want to adversely affect their particular
either tax rate and/or assessment.
So -- but just to reinforce what Mr. Dorrill said, the Fleet
Management Department regularly puts out a schedule of equipment to
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be replaced based on the nuances that were talked about earlier, and
every one of the departments, including MSTUs and BUs, receive
those lists, so...
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. It was just something
that sounded like we had that you weren't able to necessarily utilize,
and I wanted to make sure you could.
MR. DORRILL: We are, including our small engine equipment.
It extends to that as well.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I just -- are you finished?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I'm done.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: I just -- I think one of the -- because I
do appreciate what Dr. Doyle is saying about the amount of the
assessment compared to the value of the property. I think the -- I
mean, the problem is is that it's a non-ad valorem assessment. It's not
based upon the value of the property. That's why -- I mean,
specifically, that's the nature of it. It's based on the benefit to the
property of whatever's being provided.
And, you know, that -- the methodology for how that is
apportioned to each property was established in the '70s, right?
MR. DORRILL: Well -- and, again, we are evaluating some
blended sources for new areas that would be new to us. But, you
know, the flip side of that argument is just because you're rich and you
live in a $10 million home in Bay Colony, is your benefit in the
beautiful medians and streetscapes and canopy trees and positive
drainage any different than someone who lives in a 400- or $500,000,
for lack of a better term, entry-level condominium neighborhood? And
that's the theory behind what the Florida legislature refers to as the
uniform rate of assessment and the method that is behind that.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Well, as long as we can -- we can try
to figure out a way to somehow address that, I think that would be
helpful.
June 15, 2017
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MR. DORRILL: I think sometime towards the end of summer or
early fall, if the Board recommends, you are going to see me come
back before you and ask you to consider an ordinance amendment that
would allow us to get into the sidewalk construction and maintenance
business, and the intended source of funds would be ad valorem.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Dr. Doyle talked about the cost of labor
for landscaping. Is that something that you've addressed as the Board,
and have you considered contracting out? Do you have landscape
folks that are making $60,000?
MR. DORRILL: Well, they don't make $60,000 a year, but if you
take into account the cost of their group health insurance and life
insurance and, I presume, dental program, that's about $1,000 a month.
And so if I have my gentleman who spent a quarter of a century as a
groundskeeper, it is conceivable that he's making 39- or $40,000 after
25 years in that range. But if you add on the cost of his insurance and
his Florida Retirement Service contributions, you can get up to
$60,000. And that's why, historically, the model that is there requires
us to use -- half of our labor is contracted day labor under an annual
contract that's let through the Purchasing Department.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's a requirement, or is that an
option?
MR. DORRILL: That is -- that is the model that has been in
place there for probably 20 years.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So have you thought about changing
that model?
MR. DORRILL: They have -- they, the Board, have discussed
that extensively, and there is no interest on the part of the Board to do
that. And, in fact, it might be helpful before the public hearing to share
with you the cost-reduction analysis that was done and perhaps some
of the pertinent meetings and minutes.
The Board has typically voted 9-1 in favor of keeping or
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expanding their employee-based model as opposed to trying to
outsource the base-level maintenance.
All of the other things that I talked about with respect to tree
pruning and trimming and exotics are all currently contracted to
outside vendors.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you.
Did you want to hear from Dr. Doyle again or no?
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: If you'd like. Did Dr. Doyle have
something else he wanted to say?
DR. DOYLE: I did.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I'll allow this.
DR. DOYLE: Thank you, Commissioners.
I just wanted -- you've been misled about one thing. We have not
always been non-ad valorem. We were all ad valorem when this all
first started with Westinghouse.
In 1993 the then sitting board came up with a scheme because
they went with top-tier homes, middle-tier, and low-tier, and they came
up with a blended non-ad valorem assessment of $200 and change.
So I'm familiar with Reedy Creek, because I did my internship at
Orlando Regional Medical Center, so I know all about Disney. This
did not start out that way.
Back then it didn't really matter; $200 didn't look like much. But
as I said, this is now rearing its ugly head. And this non-ad valorem
thing that was put in in 1993 is not fair.
The good news is is we still have the ad valorem 778 fund, so
there is a mechanism to put the landscaping, water, what I call
day-to-day operation expenses that are not truly what should be part of
a non-ad valorem assessment. That should be going into an ad
valorem fund. That's all I'm saying.
But it was 1993 that it was converted. And Pelican Bay was
already here for 15 to 18 years at that time. Thank you.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Did you have --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yeah. I just had a point, and I
just -- you know, I certainly understand where Dr. Joe is coming from,
but I also have a lot of admiration for the advisory board and the board
of directors of Pelican Bay, Mr. Dorrill as well, for how they do what
they do all day every day and the benefit that our community has
received by the existence of this organization.
Are all the decisions as equitable as they possibly can be? Is
everybody going to concur with the decisions? No. But I just want to
-- I want to acknowledge the great job that you're doing.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: It's an extraordinary group of people.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, you know, it bodes well,
because you heard me say in prior discussion about our lack of
utilization of the tremendous amount of knowledge that we have
within our community, and that typifies that existent resource that our
county's not taking enough of an advantage of, so...
MR. DORRILL: Thank you, again.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Thanks.
MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, if I may, the remaining part
of management offices essentially consists of County Manager's
budget. Oh, I'm sorry. You want to go to a break?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah, I just -- no, Terri's fading here.
So would you like a break? Can we do 10 minutes?
MR. ISACKSON: My fault.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no. It's my fault. I wasn't paying
attention. Thank you.
(A brief recess was had.)
MR. OCHS: Ma'am, you have a live mic.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. And so where
are we?
June 15, 2017
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MR. OCHS: Commissioners, we're down to your debt service.
Take about a minute.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Wait a second. We have to
have a court reporter. We gave her a break, and she's late.
Debt Service
MR. ISACKSON: Thank you, Commissioners.
On your sequence of events, it now takes us to debt service. Just
a couple of highlights on your debt service tab. This consists of two
particular debt areas: One, general governmental and, two, the county
water/sewer district.
A couple of highlights. We began our significant restructuring of
our debt back in 2010, and you can see from the numbers the product
of that restructuring effort that was ongoing.
On the utilities side, most recently we took out about
$87-and-a-half million of SRF loans restructured into a longer-term
bank note, and the interest rate there was 1.8 percent.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well done.
MR. ISACKSON: So I think that's the debt. The numbers speak
for themselves. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No questions.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No, good job.
MR. ISACKSON: Thank you, sir.
County Attorney would be up next.
MR. KLATZKOW: Yes. And traditionally we just sit here and
take your questions.
June 15, 2017
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CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no. We're not going to let you.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We want you to come over
here.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: There's nothing traditional today, sir.
You're going to have to present. He tried it, didn't he?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I'm getting sound now. It wasn't
there for a few minutes. I'm sorry.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, did you have any
questions of Mr. Isackson regarding debt service?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: You know, I didn't -- I could just see
him talking, but I couldn't hear him. I just got in now. So I have no
questions, but I didn't see anything in advance either.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you very much.
So, Mr. Klatzkow.
County Attorney
MR. KLATZKOW: We do our job best when we're invisible.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It's not working.
MR. KLATZKOW: For example, we have no land use cases.
We haven't had a land use case in this county of significance in years,
because I have an excellent team over at Horseshoe working with the
County Manager's excellent team over at Horseshoe, working with
Mark Strain to make sure when things get to you there are no
problems. So whatever decision you make, the decision holds.
We work very well with Jeff Walker and his people. And when
you go through the litigation report, you'll see we have an outstanding
record because of that when it comes to slip and falls and other actions
against the county.
Over the years my people and the County Manager's people have
developed some very good relationships, very strong relationships, and
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it's been to the substantial benefit of the county because of that.
And, again, we operate best when you don't hear of us, when you
don't see us, because you know we're not messing up.
I'd be happy to take any questions.
MR. OCHS: Commissioners, we couldn't get our job done
without the County Attorney and his staff, bottom line.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's right.
MR. OCHS: We appreciate everything he does for us.
MR. KLATZKOW: Yeah. And without insulting any other
division, I think I've got the best people in the county. And we spend a
lot of time training, cross-training, and I've got very good people, and
because of that I get to do a decent job.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, any questions?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No questions except I can verify
they do a great job, and they have a good leader, too.
MR. KLATZKOW: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No questions.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I just wanted to say, Mr. Klatzkow,
when I call, you answer. You always get back to me with -- if you
don't know the answer right then and there, you do the research and
you get back to me. And it's a pleasure working with you. You're
such a big part of keeping the taxpayers' money in the taxpayers'
pocket, so thank you for what you do.
MR. KLATZKOW: It's an absolute pleasure working for this
Board.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good. Thank you.
MR. OCHS: Commissioner, that concludes any of the
presentations. We're at the wrap-up portion of the workshop. Any
additional questions or comments or direction that the Board has for us
at this point we're here to take.
June 15, 2017
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Board of County Commissioners
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I have a question about the budget of
us, the Commissioners. Is that -- where is that? Could we just discuss
that a little bit because I'm not --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's right here. I think the Chair
should go forth and present.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, I didn't -- no, no, this is our County
Manager. No, heck no, not me. I just -- give me -- what is your
budget?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: It's right here. It's right -- it's in
the last tab under -- well, under us, Board of County Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It's more that -- can we just go over
what --
MR. OCHS: Certainly.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It's more just informational. What, you
know --
MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- that kind of thing.
MR. ISACKSON: Ma'am, if you go to tab -- on Page 6 under the
tab that Commissioner McDaniel was talking about, you'll see that
portion of the budget that I think has direct impact on your operations.
And each one -- if you go into the accounting system that we have,
each commissioner has a specific cost center that they have, and I'm
sure your aides have briefed you on that, and then there's a general cost
center that is kind of a catchall cost center for general overhead items,
things of that nature.
Now, the real question is do you think -- do you think your
individual cost centers are enough to accomplish your particular goals
and objectives? That's the issue. You meet guidance, so...
June 15, 2017
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MR. OCHS: Mark, let's go over Page 7 real quickly so the Board
understands how we manage those costs.
MR. ISACKSON: Yeah. I was -- my original comments related
to Page 6 only because that's the particular section that really pertains
to your particular costs.
MR. OCHS: Yeah, those are the five of you and your five aides.
That's the operating expenses for that office on Page 6.
MR. ISACKSON: Page 7 is what we call other general
administrative costs. And you'll see a specific breakdown of those
costs under the program summary there.
The Department of Juvenile Justice payments, the Naples CRA
payments, our payments for unemployment comp, various insurance
payments throughout the division within the General Fund, our
corporate countywide costs that I put together intending to make that
cost center very flexible for use throughout the course of the year and,
of course, our auditing costs.
That represents -- while it's underneath your mantra, it is really
something that our office puts together, for the most part, based on the
information that we receive.
So the other general administrative section is in 111, and you'll
see under that particular program summary the costs related to that
item.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
MR. ISACKSON: So any questions, I'll be happy to answer
them.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No. I think that's what I wanted to --
we're not doing too bad. We have a bit of an increase in 2018, but it's
really a decrease.
MR. ISACKSON: That increase is really in the areas that I had
outlined just a minute ago, specifically for the Naples CRA and things
of that nature. So it has nothing to do with your specific cost
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containment areas.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Yeah. On Page 6, the million-two,
you divide that by five, that's basically our office budget, and that
includes salaries.
MR. ISACKSON: And I don't know -- each of your salaries, I
think, are somewhat different. I'm not so sure. I'd have to go back and
look at a report, but...
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: But, essentially, I mean, that's --
that's the number for all five of us, including staff salaries.
MR. OCHS: Commissioner McDaniel wanted to make sure he
wasn't getting shorted here.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, I just knew
Commissioner Saunders had worked a deal where he was making
more than me.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: One dollar.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I've been around a long time. I
knew how to do that.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes, sir. Well, I know. It's that
Tallahassee trip or two.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right.
MR. OCHS: Any other questions on the board budget, Madam
Chair?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, any questions?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, not now, but maybe one day I'll
sit down with somebody in my office and talk to them.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you very much.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Madam Chair, I'd like to make
just one comment before we wrap up.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I've been through a lot of
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budget hearings, went through a lot of budget hearings when I was on
the County Commission back in the stone ages, and then went through
a lot of budget discussions when I was in the legislature, and I have to
tell you, this is one of the best, if not the best in terms of clarity, the
presentations. So I want to congratulate the County Manager and
County Attorney and all the staff that took part in this. It's very well
done.
MR. OCHS: Thank you, Commissioner, on behalf of the staff.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Beautifully said, Commissioner
Saunders.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Any other comments, questions,
Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: No, nothing else from me.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, I'm probably going to regret that I'm
raising this, you know, but the next time we're going to talk to you
about the budget is when we come to you at your July meeting to set
your maximum tentative ad valorem millage.
So, you know, the sooner we know if there's any work that you
need us to do in advance of that the better. Is that obscure enough for
everybody?
We'll take into consideration the items that you identified today.
You know, Conservation Collier is the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
And I don't know if you want to save that discussion for July 11th and
we'll do that on the floor as we deal with that item or whether you want
to have any advance discussion on that either today or during your
comments section at your board meeting but -- you know, your second
meeting in June. Enough said.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, I'm -- you know -- and you
mentioned that they may want to -- they may come here; they're not
here, which is the Chamber of Commerce. That's not a reflection -- a
June 15, 2017
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negative reflection on you, sir.
But I think we've got a situation where there are two entities, us
and the Chamber of Commerce, with great intentions of trying to fund
not only Conservation Collier -- I think they call it a green tax -- but
also infrastructure and workforce housing through an initiative with a
sales -- a sur -- surtax; is that correct? I want to be very clear.
Surcharge on the sales tax; is that correct? Is that their correct --
MR. ISACKSON: It's an infrastructure surtax, yes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Infrastructure surtax. And not to -- I
don't want both of these entities to collide.
The other aspect that was my mistake, but now I'm questioning --
you know, I thought that we would go ahead and acquire properties
until such time as -- obviously, it's going to be after the ad valorem is
levied in October, but that if for some reason the public didn't approve
it, that that ad valorem tax would be refunded to our taxpayers. That is
not -- not what we agreed.
So I'm questioning now, with the initiative of the Chamber, where
we stand with it. I'm still open. But what I'd like to do is perhaps -- I
know I shouldn't say this, but I know we have a two-day meeting
probably at our next meeting, but I think it's very, very timely to bring
the Chamber in to bring this -- their initiative to us.
And I would bow to my colleagues here, because I certainly don't
-- I believe in Conservation Collier. I worked with Commissioner
Saunders in the Penny for Paradise so long ago. I mean, it was the
very, very first initiative, and he was, I think, extremely courageous to
bring it forward. We're asking taxpayers, do you want to tax yourselves
for green, and it didn't go forward, but it was the beginning of it
because then a few years later, maybe two years later, the City of
Naples, the first time in the history of the whole county, the citizens
agreed to buy, for the tune of, I think it was, 9 or 12 million -- I don't
remember -- dollars a piece of property that was scheduled to be
June 15, 2017
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Walgreens right next to the Coastland Mall and leave it the way it is.
And so it was the -- you started this, you know. And I've never
forgotten that and had such a great deal of respect for your continued
advocacy to preserve land for this community into the future.
MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, let me be clear. And I apologize if I
wasn't. With regard to setting the maximum tentative millage rate in
July --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We could do it.
MR. OCHS: -- you could certainly maintain your quarter mill,
and if you decide in the September public hearings that you want to
amend that in any way, that is go lower -- you can't go higher at that
point -- you can certainly do that. So I don't mean to box you into any
early decisions. I'm just trying to get a feel for, you know, how fast
and how hard we're going to go at this.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
Commissioner Saunders, you want to take it?
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: That's all good points, Madam
Chair. Obviously, you don't want two tax initiatives on the ballot at
the same time.
And so I think -- with what the County Manager just said, I think
-- and what you just said, the Chamber's on notice now that we have an
interest in hearing what they have to say. And if they're ready to come
to us in July, fine. If they're not ready until September, that will work
as well.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: We'll have a bit of a policy
issue decision to make in July, and that is, do we want to have
anything in the proposed millage for Conservation Collier. And I think
that we probably would want to keep something in that just in case we
want to go forward with it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Right.
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: But the final decision on
Conservation Collier will be in September.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
MR. OCHS: And I'm -- you know, based on my limited
knowledge of the Chamber's efforts to date, I'm not sure they're ready
to come to you in a public forum and tell you they have all of the
answers by July. So I think you're probably heading down the road
that Commissioner Saunders has outlined --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay.
MR. OCHS: -- which is fine.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah. All right. Good.
Anything else?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Oh, yeah. You want to go to
Commissioner Fiala first before me or me?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah. Just a fast question. Thank
you very much.
Can you tell me again -- I know you've said it before but not at
this meeting -- how much money would be -- would be received if we
used that quarter mill versus that 10 percent (sic) mill for Conservation
Collier?
MR. ISACKSON: Commissioner, Mark Isackson. You're going
to raise about $20.8 million at a quarter of a mill; at a tenth of a mill,
about 8.3 million.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: And that's every single year, right?
MR. ISACKSON: Well, that's this particular cycle, the FY18 tax
cycle.
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Until we go to referendum when we
decide whether we want to do it for --
MR. ISACKSON: And that would be part of your FY19
deliberation then.
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER FIALA: Okay, good. Thank you very much
for clarifying. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner McDaniel?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. And I have a couple of
points I'd like to make. Since we're on the 800-pound gorilla, let's talk
about it. I had proposed what I perceived to be a pretty nifty
compromise with regard to Conservation Collier, and Commissioner
Saunders took hold of a portion of that compromise in utilizing some
of the reserves that we have, appropriating those over to acquisitions
immediately.
The rationale I had was -- because I read the ordinance that
created Conservation Collier. I see a lot of what I perceive to be as
inefficiencies or -- I don't want to call them deficiencies, but things that
can be enhanced within the organization of Conservation Collier, both
from an operational standpoint and an acquisition standpoint.
And I didn't say the last part because I really thought that that was
a fairly nifty compromise. It put up to $17 million to Conservation
Collier. If you take their A and B list, combine the estimated value of
the properties that they want in A and B as less than 10 million, it gave
us two years, two budget cycles to work on the acquisition side of
Conservation Collier and the operational side.
The second portion of that that I didn't talk about -- and it might
be just -- I'm not experienced enough at this, but I had actually thought
and wanted to propose, in lieu of the .25, .10 for Conservation Collier
on a binding referendum, .10 for infrastructure, and .10 for parks all
three of which, on a binding referendum -- and the rationale there that I
had -- have, even today, is that the majority of the taxpaying electorate,
if given the opportunity to have a say-so, a bit of a say-so with regard
to the expenditure of their tax monies, would support whatever -- in
one, two, three; three separate binding referendums. That way there
the organizations that wanted to rally up in support tax increase for
June 15, 2017
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green, as you spoke of earlier, could do so, and same with those for
infrastructure and workforce housing in this.
And I really didn't have -- those were the three that I had in my
mind in lieu of us implementing a .25 increase and devoting it strictly
for Conservation Collier.
And I didn't propose that when I brought forward that
compromise several months ago when Conservation Collier came up
in front of us with regard to the budget initiative so -- and I apologize
for not talking about my whole plan. It was a bit of a -- probably
egotistical. I couldn't really believe that anybody wouldn't like my
plan.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: The nerve.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: You, sir -- you, sir, have that problem?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Imagine that. Imagine that.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: You, too?
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So with that, that's my thoughts
on Conservation Collier. And I understand we've got some more time
to talk more about it and maybe come up with a different way to get to
where we're going.
So I do want to have a discussion, while we're talking about taxes
-- and I know that our County Manager's looked crooked at me twice --
and it has to do with the ordinance that was adopted last year with
regard to the unincorporated area and the landscape maintenance and
such. And I'd like to -- you know, and, again, if we're talking about
taxes -- and I said this at the beginning of this process, I'm not opposed
to assisting our electorate in having a reduction there if we can have a
legible (sic) discussion about it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: If there's -- and also, if there is -- and
there will probably be some time before we need to talk about the
decision about the levy of the 2.5 mills.
I had a very interesting conversation with Mr. Jenkins yesterday
June 15, 2017
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after he spent most of the day here on Tuesday, and he -- as someone
who knows the land, hunts the land --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- and also was on Conservation Collier
for a number of years, there is some concern -- and I've heard it from
another corridor, that perhaps we need to reevaluate the land that
Conservation Collier has and to see if there's a mechanism, if we agree,
if there's criteria, and if they don't meet the criteria, for whatever
reason -- I'm not suggesting that it's a nefarious thing, but that if there
could be a vehicle, perhaps, to address lands that perhaps could go to
another reason in order to buy other lands. That's probably not in the
ordinance as it sits.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And that was where I was --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I haven't read the ordinance, but, you
know, there is one -- and it's funny, two corridors. There's this piece of
property that we own as Conservation Collier, and adjacent to that
property is the most beautiful stand of old growth cypress in the urban
area, and it is urban now. And why can't we buy that? Well, it was
very expensive. Well, you know, life goes on, and this is a different
day. So there are some thoughts of this. And I -- If we could look at it
and --
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Oh, I think we should.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- agree.
So, Commissioner Fiala, do you have anything to add to this,
ma'am?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I think that's an excellent discussion,
because there were so many things inland that we, I think in the
beginning, imagined to put in preservation forever so that we would
have green space right in front -- in the urban area, but somehow that
didn't happen very much or very often, and I would still like to go back
to that because, I agree, we only have one shot at some of these things.
June 15, 2017
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Like, for instance, that -- the tree grouping that you were just
mentioning. Once it's gone, it's gone.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And that was some of the
initial -- if you -- and when I did review the ordinance, there was some
discussion with regard to those priorities being in the acquisitions; in
some stage it shifted which, again, this was why I was proposing we
have a shot at the organizational aspects both from acquisition and
maintenance.
And I do have one other point unrelated to that when you're done
or when we're ready.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, I think we're done with -- okay.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: This has to do with Mr.
Isackson, and this is just me talking about how we do what we've
always done, Mr. Isackson. And it -- I noticed in all of our budgets
and all of our divisions there's a very large carryforward that comes
from one year to the next that offsets the deficits associated with the
revenue streams and the expense side. Has there been -- have we had
any discussion about moving our fiscal year to an annual year to better
coincide with the revenue stream?
MR. ISACKSON: I wouldn't suggest that, sir.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Then we shall not.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: If there's no other discussion, just some
housekeeping. We do have a very aggressive meeting coming up, and
I would suggest -- hopefully I'm wrong. I would suggest that we plan
on two days; is that correct, sir?
MR. OCHS: Yes. Commissioners, there's at least six advertised
public hearings that may end up on your next agenda, so it will be
lengthy.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Rather than -- probably rather
than spend the evening here, it's probably better to do it over two days;
is that correct? What? What?
June 15, 2017
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MR. CASALANGUIDA: I was just saying to the Manager,
we've also got tentatively the Kalea appeal on July --
MR. OCHS: In July, yes.
MR. CASALANGUIDA: So between the two meetings, you
have your big land use day and then appeal day that's going to be
chock full, I would imagine.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. So...
MR. OCHS: You may not want to make plans to leave town on
July 12th. It will be July 13th.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, are you going to
be going to the FAC conference?
COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. Well, no, not the FAC
conference, because I can't do that. But I am going to the NACo
conference, but that's in July, and that's in Ohio. I'll be in Ohio
already, so that won't interfere with anything. My reservations are --
July 13th was when my flight was leaving. Is that a good day or bad
day?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Our meeting's on the 11th, isn't it?
MR. OCHS: I think that's a grand day.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Because we'll be actually close until --
COMMISSIONER FIALA: I tried to give it an extra day,
because you never can tell.
MR. OCHS: If we're still here on the 13th, ma'am --
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: You won't have a quorum if
you're here.
MR. OCHS: That's right. I may not have a job. Forget a
quorum.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Well, if there's any other
discussion? No --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: There is. Don't close yet.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Wait. Oh.
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. I had three subject
matters. I mentioned two. And you made mention of this. You said
under public comment -- or commissioner comment and such, and I've
been over here on the edge of my seat regarding -- I would like a little
further discussion, if you would, explanation with regard to the beach
access AUIR process that you were talking about. Where are you
going?
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Where am I going is it's nice to look
and see, as we grow, what we're providing for the millions of people --
the "million" of people that we're adding to our current population and
to have -- to be able to address it from a very statistical point of view
instead of saying, we don't have any more. What does that mean?
You know, I understand -- I understand that former commissions,
you know, not -- and present excepted. Ah, I can't even talk.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Recidivism.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, no; recidivism.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I still can't say it.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala, I'm not pointing
fingers whatsoever.
But, you know, for whatever reason, certain properties were sold
that could have been used for parking, for access to the beaches. But
you know what, we've got to look at it. City of Naples has 33 of those
lovely accesses.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I know. I love those streets.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I know. And there's parking there, and
they welcome -- and I think the county has 10. So I think we need to
address it and look at it and keep it in mind as we go forward because,
as I've said before, they're not building beaches in the east.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Correct. Well -- and that's
where the population, in fact, is coming from.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's right.
June 15, 2017
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COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And that was just where I was
looking to go. I certainly don't have a problem in adding it in or
looking at it from the AUIR process, and I really think that's a prudent
idea. I just -- I was looking to hear from -- where you were coming
from with --
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's where I'm coming from. And,
you know, I'm so -- I have so much respect for this county, because a
lot of counties have put aside their AUIR. We haven't done it.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: No.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We said we have a responsibility to the
people who live here and the people who are coming here so that they
know where we are in that measuring --
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: -- that measuring yardstick, so that's
why. So I'd like to see it moved back in. I understand how it was
moved somewhere else. I think I want it back in for beach access.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. That's -- you know, I
don't think it's an imprudent thought process. I mean, we all know we
have a population increase. It's coming.
COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Oh, yeah.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We all know that access to our
beaches is finite.
I will commend our county -- and that's one of the things that --
you know, I've said it regularly. Back in my early days of Collier
County, I had two dolphins on the payroll that swam by the pier every
night at 5 o'clock, and so I believe that the access is really, really --
well, beaches in general are imperative to our community.
So adding it back in -- is there a problem with that? I don't see a
downside with that. I think it actually brings it to the forefront and
gives us a rationale of discussion.
MR. OCHS: That's fine. We treated it in the prior beach and
June 15, 2017
Page 156
boat access master plan. It's never been, I don't believe, in an actual
element of your AUIR, but we did -- we did treat it indirectly through
that master plan.
And as Barry said, he's updating his parks and recreation master
plan, and that includes all your beach parks, which are your beach
ends. So, yes, it's very appropriate we have that discussion.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Thank you.
MR. OCHS: I have a spot already picked out for the next parking
structure.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Nice.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Seagate, right? I know. He always
says that, Seagate.
MR. KLATZKOW: Another impact fee; beach access impact
fee.
COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I appreciate you bringing that
up.
MR. OCHS: Thank you, Jeff.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Well, thank you very much.
It was a very good, productive day.
MR. OCHS: Thank you, all, Commissioners.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. Meeting adjourned.
June 15, 2017
Page 157
*****
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 3:22 p.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX
OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF
SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL
________________________________________
PENNY TAYLOR, CHAIRMAN
ATTEST
DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK
_________________________
These minutes approved by the Board on _______________, as
presented______________ or as corrected _____________.
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF U.S. LEGAL
SUPPORT, INC., BY TERRI LEWIS, COURT REPORTER AND
NOTARY PUBLIC.